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OUTLINES  OF 
EUROPEAN  HISTORY 

PART  I 

EARLIEST  MAN 
THE  ORIENT,  GREECE,  AND  ROME 

BY 

JAMES  HENRY  BREASTED 

PROFESSOR   OF    EGYPTOLOGY   AND    ORIENTAL    HISTORY 
IN   THE    UNIVERSITY   OF    CHICAGO 

EUROPE  FROM  THE  BREAK-UP  OF  THE 

ROMAN  EMPIRE  TO  THE  OPENING 

OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY 

BY 

JAMES  HARVEY  ROBINSON 

PROFESSOR    OF    HISTORY    IN    COLUMBIA    UNIVERSITY 


GINN  AND   COMPANY 

BOSTON  •  NEW  YORK  •  CHICAGO  •  LONDON 


COPYRIGHT,  1914,  IJY  JAMES  HARVEY  ROlilXSON 

AND  JAMES  HENRY  BREASTED 

ALL   RIGHTS  RESERVED 

514-10 


1  4-1 


V. 


\  n 


^f 


GINN  AND  COMPANY-  PRO- 
PRIETORS •  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

General  European  history  is  one  of  the  most  perplexing  sub- 
jects to  deal  with  in  the  high  school.  It  seems  essential  that 
boys  and  girls  should  have  some  knowledge  of  the  whole  past 
of  mankind ;  without  that  they  can  have  no  real  understanding . 
of  the  world  in  which  they  live,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the 
present  can  only  be  explained  by  the  past.  The  older  historical 
manuals  were,  in  the  main,  short  accounts  of  past  eve?its\  but 
it  is  really  past  conditions  and  past  institutions  that  are  best 
worth  knowing  about.  The  older  books  tended,  moreover,  to 
give  too  much  attention  to  the  remote  past  and  too  little  in- 
formation in  regard  to  recent  history,  so  that  there  was  little 
chance  of  the  pupil's  realizing  the  vital  bearing  of  the  past  on 
the  present. 

The  aim  of  the  "  Outlines  of  European  History  "  is  to  avoid 
these  defects  of  the  older  books,  first,  by  frankly  subordinating 
the  mere  happenings  of  the  past  to  a  clear  statement  of  the  con- 
ditions under  which  men  lived  for  long  periods  and  of  the  ideas 
which  they  held ;  and,  secondly,  by  devoting  about  half  of  the 
work,  namely.  Part  II,  to  the  past  hundred  and  fifty  or  two 
hundred  years,  which  concern  us  most  immediately. 

The  arrangement  of  the  volumes  is  novel  in  a  number  of 
respects.  Each  chapter  is  divided  into  several  topical  sections, 
as  will  be  seen  by  consulting  the  Table  of  Contents.  The  topics 
are,  of  course,  arranged  with  strict  attention  to  chronology,  but  the 
writers  have  always  before  them  a  particular  subject  which  they 
aim  to  make  plain  under  each  section  heading.  In  short,  each 
section  is  a  discussible  topic  and  not  a  fragme7it  of  chronology. 
The  authors  hope  that  this  plan  of  presentation  will  serve  to 
make  the  books  more  useful  and  teachable  than  the  older 
method  of  arrangement. 


iv  Outlmes  of  European  History 

In  the  preparation  of  Chapters  XlI-XXVIIl  the  writer  has 
made  free  use  of  the  corresponding  matter  in  his  Ititroduciion 
to  the  History  of  Western  Europe.  But  a  good  deal  in  the  older 
book  has  been  omitted,  new  matter  has  been  introduced,  many 
fundamental  readjustments  have  been  made,  and  the  method 
of  presentation  has  been  reconsidered  from  beginning  to  end. 

Great  attention  has  been  given  to  the  illustrations,  especially 
in  Part  I,  where  the  vastness  of  the  field  to  be  covered  and  the 
necessary  brevity  of  the  text  render  it  absolutely  essential  to 
reenforce  the  written  word  by  reproductions  of  the  actual  ves- 
tiges of  the  past.  Not  only  have  the  illustrations  been  carefully 
chosen  with  a  view  of  corroborating  and  vivifying  the  text  but 
under  each  picture  a  sufficiently  detailed  legend  is  given  to  ex- 
plain its  significance,  and  these  often  add  materially  to  the  in- 
formation given  in  the  letterpress.  The  pictures  consequently 
give  a  sort  of  parallel  narrative  and  furnish  a  helpful  supple- 
ment and  corrective  to  the  text  itself.  Everything  which  does 
not  obviously  bear  upon  the  chief  matters  under  consideration 
is  sedulously  excluded. 

These  volumes  meet  the  growing  demand  for  a  t7ao-yesir 
course  in  European  history  in  the  high  school  and  the  prepara- 
tory schools.  The  great  achievements  of  the  oriental  peoples 
and  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  periods  are  brought  into  immediate 
relation  with  later  European  development,  without  devoting  a 
whole  year's  study  to  them.  English  history,  if  somewhat  briefly 
treated,  is  given  its  proper  association  with  that  of  the  neigh- 
boring nations  on  the  Continent.  By  devoting  the  whole  second 
year  to  the  history  of  the  last  two  centuries,  the  student  will  be 
in  a  position  to  grasp  the  more  immediate  causes  of  the  con- 
ditions in  the  midst  of  which  we  live. 

In  the  preparation  of  Part  I  the  authors  have  received  great 
aid  from  Professor  David  S.  Muzzey  in  the  difficult  task  of  pre- 
senting the  development  of  Greece  in  a  brief  form ;  valuable 
suggestions  and  emendations  have  also  been  contributed  by 
Dr.  Carl  F.   Huth  and  Mr.   A.   F.   Barnard  of  Chicago.    To 


Preface  v 

Dr.  Huth's  kindness  is  also  due  the  valuable  bibliography  for 
Chapters  V-XI,  for  which  the  authors  are  greatly  indebted  to  him. 

Hearty  thanks  are  due  to  Mr.  E.  R.  Smith  of  the  Avery 
Library  and  to  the  publishers  for  their  hearty  cooperation  in 
solving  the  complicated  problems  involved  in  the  selection  and 
reproduction  of  the  illustrations.  To  Mrs.  William  T.  Brewster 
we  are  indebted  for  the  delightful  water-color  sketch  of  the  plain 
of  Argos  from  the  citadel  of  ancient  Tiryms  (Plate  II,  p.  124). 

Besides  photographs  furnished  by  the  University  of  Chicago 
Eg)'-ptian  Expedition,  many  illustrations  in  Chapters  I-XI  have 
been  contributed  by  a  number  of  foreign  scholars,  to  whom  the 
authors  w^ould  here  express  their  thanks,  especially  to  Bissing 
(Munich),  Borchardt  (Cairo),  Dechelette  (Roanne),  Dorpfeld 
(Athens  and  Berlin),  Hoernes  (Vienna),  Koldewey  (Babylon), 
Montelius  (Stockholm),  Schaefer  (Berlin),  Steindorff  (Leipzig), 
and  some  others,  who  have  kindly  furnished  photographs  and 
sketches.  In  these  chapters  (I-XI)  the  authors  are  also  especially 
indebted  to  Messrs.  L'nderwood  &  L'nderwood  for  permission  to 
use  their  unrivaled  series  of  Egyptian,  oriental,  and  Mediter- 
ranean photographs  as  the  basis  for  a  number  of  sketches : 
Figs.  9,  10,  54,  57,  69,  72,  76,  80,  81,  ^2,,  84,  85,  86,  87,  89,  90, 
94,  103,  109,  117,  also  tailpiece,  p.  no.  In  no  other  way  can 
impressions  of  the  places  and  scenes  where  the  men  of  the 
early  world  lived  and  wrought  be  obtained  so  vividly  as  by  the 
use  of  these  L^nderwood  photographs  in  stereoscopic  form. 
Teachers  who  make  the  Underwood  stereographs,  from  which 
the  above  list  of  figures  is  taken,  a  part  of  their  equipment 
will  find  that  their  teaching  gains  enormously  in  effectiveness. 

J.  H.  R. 
J.  H.  B. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.   Early  Mankind  in  Europe 

1.  Earliest  Man's  Ignorance  and  Progress i 

2.  The  Early  Stone  Age 3 

3.  The  Middle  Stone  Age 6 

4.  The  Late  Stone  Age 10 

5.  Late  Stone  Age  Europe  and  the  Orient 14 

II.   The  Story  of  Egypt 

6.  Egypt  and  its  Earliest  Inhabitants 17 

7.  The  Pyramid  Age 27 

8.  The  Feudal  Age 42 

9.  The  Empire 44 

III.   Western  Asia:  Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  Chaldea 

10.  The  Lands  and  Races  of  Western  Asia 56 

11.  The  Earliest  Babylonians 61 

12.  The  Age  of  Hammurapi  and  after 67 

13.  Early  Assyria  and  her  Rivals 70 

14.  The  Assyrian  Empire  (about  750  to  606  B.C.) 71 

15.  The  Chaldean  Empire:  the  Last  Semitic  Empire    ...  80 

IV.   Western  Asia:     the  Medo-Persian   Empire  and  the 
Hebrews 

16.  The  Indo-European  Peoples  and  their  Dispersion  ...  86 

17.  The  Aryan  Peoples  and  the  Iranian  Prophet  Zoroaster  91 

18.  The  Persian  Empire 95 

19.  The  Hebrews lo.i 

V.   The  Mediterranean  World  and  the  Early  Greeks 

20.  The  Mgean  Civilization iii 

21.  The  Early  Greeks 123 

22.  The  Greek  City-States  under  Kings 127 

VI.   The  Age  of  the  Nobles  and  the  Tyrants  in  Greece 

23.  Civilization  in  the  Age  of  the  Nobles 136 

24.  Greek  Expansion  in  the  Age  of  the  Nobles 146 

vii 


viii  Outlines  of  Einvpcan  History 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

25.  The  Industrial  and  Commercial  Revolution      ....  148 

26.  Rise  of  the  Democracy  and  the  Age  of  the  Tyrants     .  153 

27.  Civilization  in  the  Age  of  the  Tyrants       159 

VII.    The  Repulse  of  Persia  and  the  Athenian  Empire 

28.  The  Struggle  with  Persia 166 

29.  The  Rise  of  the  Athenian  Empire 178 

30.  Civilization  of  Imperial  Athens  in  the  Age  of  Pericles  .  184 

VIII.   The  Destruction  of  the  Athenian  Empire  and  the 
End  of  Greek  Power 

3 1 .  The  Second  Peloponnesian  War  and  the  Fall  of  Athens  1 96 

32.  The  Higher  Life  of  Athens  after  Pericles 203 

33.  The  Age  of  Spartan  Leadership 208 

34.  The  Leadership  of  Thebes 212 

IX.    Alexander  the  Great  and  the  Hellenistic  Age 

35.  The  Rise  of  Macedonia 215 

36.  Campaigns  of  Alexander  the  Great 217 

37.  International  Policy  of  Alexander:  its  Personal  Con- 

sequences    224 

38.  The  Heirs  of  Alexander's  Empire 229 

39.  The  Civilization  of  the  Hellenistic  Age 232 

X.   The  Western  World  and  Rome  to  the  Fall  of  the 
Republic 

40.  The  Western  Mediterranean  World  and  Early  Italy    .  241 

41.  Earliest  Rome 247 

42.  The  Expansion  of  the  Roman  Republic 254 

43.  The  Carthaginian  Wars 258 

44.  W^orld  Dominion  and  Civil  War 261 

XL   The  Roman  Empire  to  the  Triumph  of  Christianity 

45.  The  Reign  of  Augustus 271 

46.  Civilization  after  Augustus  and  its  Decline 282 

47.  Popularity  of  Oriental  Religions  and  the   Spread  of 

Early  Christianity 296 

48.  Internal  Revolution  and  the  Collapse  of  Ancient  Civi- 

lization      301 

49.  The  Triumph  of  Christianity 306 

50.  Retrospect 310 


Contents  ix 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XII.   The  German  Invasions  and  the  Break-up  of  the 
Roman  Empire 

51.  Founding  of  Kingdoms  by  Barbarian  Chiefs  .     ...  315 

52.  Kingdom  of  the  Franks 325 

53.  Results  of  the  Barbarian  Invasions 329 

XIII.  The  Rise  of  the  Papacy 

54.  The  Christian  Church 334 

55.  Origin  of  the  Power  of  the  Popes 340 

XIV.  The    Monks    and    their    Missionary    Work;    the 

Mohammedans 

56.  Monks  and  Monasteries 348 

57.  Missionary  Work  of  the  Monks 355 

58.  Mohammed  and  his  ReHgion 358 

59.  Conquests  of  the  Mohammedans  ;  the  Caliphate    .     .  364 

XV.    Charlemagne  and  his  Empire 

60.  Conquests  of  Charlemagne 369 

61.  Establishment  of  a  Line  of  Emperors  in  the  West     .  376 

62.  How  Charlemagne  carried  on  his  Government .     .     .  ^-jj 

XVI.    The  Age  of  Disorder;    Feudalism 

63.  The  Disruption  of  Charlemagne's  Empire      ....  381 

64.  The  Medieval  Castle 387 

65.  The  Serfs  and  the  Manor 394 

66.  The  Feudal  System 397 

67.  Neighborhood  Warfare  in  the  Middle  Ages  ....  401 

XVII.    England  in  the  Middle  Ages 

68.  The  Norman  Conquest 405 

69.  Henry  II  and  the  Plantagenets 411 

70.  The  Great  Charter  and  the  Beginnings  of  Parliament  419 

71.  Wales  and  Scotland 422 

72.  The  Hundred  Years'  War 426 

XVIII.    Popes  and  Emperors 

73.  Origin  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire 438 

74.  The  Church  and  its  Property 440 

75.  Powers  claimed  by  the  Popes 446 

76.  Gregory  VII  and  Emperor  Henry  IV 447 

77.  The  Hohenstaufen  Emperors  and  the  Popes     .    .     .  452 


X  Outlines  of  European  History 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.   The  Crusades 

78.  Origin  of  the  Crusades 460 

79.  The  First  Crusade 464 

80.  Religious  Orders  of  the  Hospitalers  and  Templars    .  468 

81.  The  Second  and  Later  Crusades 470 

82.  Chief  Results  of  the  Crusades 472 

XX.   The  Medieval  Church  at  its  Height 

83.  Organization  and  Powers  of  the  Church 475 

84.  The  Heretics  and  the  Inquisition 481 

85.  The  Franciscans  and  Dominicans 484 

86.  Church  and  State 489 

XXI.    Medieval  Towns  —  their  Business  and  Buildings 

87.  The  Towns  and  Guilds 497 

88.  Business  in  the  Later  Middle  Ages 502 

89.  Gothic  Architecture 509 

90.  The  Italian  Cities  of  the  Renaissance 516 

91.  Early  Geographical  Discoveries 526 

XXII.    Books  and  Science  in  the  Middle  Ages 

92.  How  the  Modern  Languages  originated 533 

93.  The  Troubadours  and  Chivalry 538 

94.  Medieval  Science 541 

95.  Medieval  Universities  and  Studies 544 

96.  Beginnings  of  Modern  Inventions 549 

97.  The  Art  of  the  Renaissance 558 

XXIII.  Emperor  Charles  V  and  his  Vast  Realms 

98.  Emperor  Maximilian  and  the  Hapsburg  Marriages    .  562 

99.  How  Italy  became  the  Battleground  of  the  European 

Powers 568 

100.  Condition    of    Germany   when    Charles    V    became 

Emperor 574 

XXIV.  Martin    Luther    and    the    Revolt    of    Germany 

against  the  Papacy 

loi.  The  Question  of  Reforming  the  Church:  Erasmus    .  578 

102.  How  Martin  Luther  revolted  against  the  Papacy  .    .  582 

103.  The  Diet  at  Worms,  1 520-1 521 593 


Contents  xi 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

104.  The  Revolt  against  the  Papacy  begins  in  Germany  596 

105.  Division  of  Germany  into  Catholic  and  Protestant 

Countries 600 

XXV.   The    Protestant    Revolt    in    Switzerland    and 
England 

106.  Zwingli  and  Calvin 605 

107.  How  England  fell  away  from  the  Papacy  ....  608 

108.  England  becomes  Protestant 614 

XXVI.    The  Wars  of  Religion 

109.  The  Council  of  Trent ;  the  Jesuits 619 

no.  Philip  II  and  the  Revolt  of  the  Netherlands      ,    .  625 

111.  The  Huguenot  Wars  in  France 631 

112.  England  under  Queen  Elizabeth 639 

113.  The  Thirty  Years' War 646 

114.  The  Beginnings  of  our  Scientific  Age 652 

XXVII.    Struggle  in   England   between    King  and   Par- 
liament 

115.  James  I  and  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings     ....  659 

116.  How  Charles  I  got  along  without  Parliament     .     .  662 

117.  How  Charles  I  lost  his  Head 667 

118.  Oliver  Cromwell :  England  a  Commonwealth    .     .  670 

119.  The  Restoration 676 

120.  The  Revolution  of  1688 678 

XXVIII.    France  under  Louis  XIV 

121.  Position  and  Character  of  Louis  XIV 681 

122.  How  Louis  encouraged  Art  and  Literature    .     .     .  685 
I  23.  Louis  XIV  attacks  his  Neighbors 688 

124.  Louis  XIV  and  his  Protestant  Subjects      ....  690 

125.  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession 692 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 697 

INDEX 713 


LIST  OF  COLORED  PLATES 

Plate  I  page 

RESTORATION   OF   THE   GREAT   PYRAMIDS   AND   OTHER 
TOMB    MONUMENTS    IN    THE    ANCIENT    CEMETERY    OF 

GiZEH,  EGYPT Frontispiecc 

Plate  II 

THE   PLAIN   OF   ARGOS   FROM   THE  CASTLE    OF    TIRYNS       1 24 

Plate  III 

THE   ACROPOLIS   OF   ATHENS   FROM   THE   WEST  .       .        180 

Plate  IV 

A  CORNER  OF   THE   PARTHENON 1 92 

Plate  V 

GREEKS   AND   PERSIANS   HUNTING   LIONS   WITH   ALEX- 
ANDER THE   GREAT 224 

Plate  VI 

STREET  SCENE  IN  CAIRO 362 

Plate  VII 

SCENES    FROM   THE   BAYEUX   TAPESTRY 408 

Plate  VIII 

PAGE  FROM  A  BOOK  OF  HOURS,   FIFTEENTH  CENTURY       552 


LIST   OF   MAPS 

PAGE 

The  Ancient  Orient 56-57 

The  Chaldean  Empire  ;  Medo-Persian  Empire 80-81 

Palestine,  the  Land  of  the  Hebrews 102-103 

The  Ancient  Greek  World 146-147 

Plan  of  Athens  and  its  Harbor  of  Piraeus 173 

Ancient  Italy,  Sicily,  and  Carthage 245 

Plan  of  Rome  under  the  Emperors 250 

The  Roman  Empire  at  its  Greatest  Extent 276-277 

Migrations  of  the  Germans 318-319 

Europe  in  the  Time  of  Theodoric 323 

Dominions  of  the  Franks  under  the  Merovingians 328 

The  Mohammedan  Conquests  at  their  Greatest  Extent     ....     365 

Europe  in  the  Time  of  Charlemagne 374-375 

Treaty  of  Mersen 382 

Plantagenet  Possessions  in  England  and  France 415 

The  British  Isles     . 422-423 

Europe  about  a.d.  iooo 440-441 

Italian  Towns  in  the  Twelfth  Century 454 

Routes  of  the  Crusaders 464-465 

Crusaders'  States  in  Syria 466 

Commercial  Towns  and  Made  Routes,  Thirteenth  and  Four- 
teenth Centuries 504-505 

The  Voyages  of  Discovery 527 

The  Malay  Archipelago 529 

Behaim's  Globe,  1492 530-531 

Europe  about  the  Middle  of  the  Sixteenth  Century  ....      572-573 

The  Swiss  Confederation 606 

Europe  when  Louis  XIV  began  his  Personal  Government    .      682-683 
Europe  after  the  Treaties  of  Utrecht  and  Rastadt      ....      694-695 


OUTLINES  OF 
EUROPEAN  HISTORY 

CHAPTER  I 

EARLY  MANKIND  IN  EUROPE 

Section  i.   Earliest  Man's  Ignorance  and  Progress 

A  new-born  child  placed  in  the  wilds  of  a  tropical  forest  and  Nature  does 
left  there  alone  would  of  course  die.  If,  however,  we  can  imag-  wkh*^knowr 
ine  him  possessinej  the  strens^th  to  survive  until  he  reached  the  ^^s^  °^. 

r  o  o  ^  civilization 

age  of  ten  years,  he  would  know  none  of  the  many  things  which 
a  boy  of  ten  in  your  town  or  city  now  knows.  Hunger  would 
have  led  him  to  eat  the  nuts,  fruits,  and  digestible  roots  and 
tubers  which  he  would  find  in  the  forest.  But  if  you  should 
show  him  a  chair,  he  would  not  know  what  its  use  might  be.  If 
you  placed  him  in  front  of  a  door,  he  would  not  know  how  to 
open  it.  He  would  possess  no  tools  or  weapons  or  implements 
of  any  kind,  nor  any  clothing.  He  would  probably  never  have 
seen  a  fire ;  or,  if  so,  he  would  not  know  how  to  make  one  or 
realize  that  his  food  might  be  cooked.  Finally,  he  would  not  even 
know  how  to  speak,  or  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  speech. 

All  these  things  every  child  among  us  learns  from  others.  Earliest  man 
But  the  earliest  men  had  no  one  to  teach  them  these  things,  everything 
and  by  slow  experience  and  long  effort  they  had  to  learn  them 
for  themselves.  Everything  had  to  be  found  out;  every  tool, 
however  simple,  had  to  be  invented ;  and,  above  all,  the  earliest 
man  had  to  discover  that  he  could  express  his  feelings  and 
ideas  by  making  sounds  with  his  throat  and  mouth.  At  first 
thought  the  men  who  began  such  discoveries  seem  to  us  to  be 


Outlines  of  European  Histor)' 


Condition  of 
earliest  man 


Condition 
of  the 

Tasmanians 
of  modern 
times 


mere  animals.  Nevertheless  the  earliest  man  possessed,  among 
other  advantages,  three  things  which  lifted  him  high  above  the 
animals.  He  had  a  larger  and  a  more  powerful  brain  than  any 
animal ;  he  had  a  pair  of  wonderful  hands  such  as  no  other 
creature  possessed,  and  with  these  he  could  make  tools  and  im- 
plements ;  finally,  he  had  a  throat  and  vocal  organs  such  that 
in  the  course  of  ages  he  would  learn  to  speak. 

At  first  man  must  have  roamed  the  tropical  forests  without 
any  clothing,  without  huts  or  shelter  of  any  kind,  with  no  tools 
or  weapons,  eating  roots,  fruit  or  berries  where  he  found  them. 
Occasionally  he  may  have  found  a  dead  bird  or  animal  killed 
by  some  other  creature,  and  thus  learning  the  taste  of  flesh  he 
would  be  led  to  pursue  the  less  dangerous  animals  and  to  lay 
them  low  with  a  stone  or  a  club.  His  food  was  of  course  all 
raw,  for  he  could  not  even  make  a  fire,  nor  did  he  know  that 
roasted  fiesh  was  better  food. 

Men  so  completely  uncivilized  as  this  no  longer  exist  on 
earth.  The  most  savage  tribes  found  by  explorers  have  learned 
how  useful  fire  is  and  they  understand  how  to  make  it.  The 
people  whom  the  English  found  on  the  island  of  Tasmania  a 
century  or  so  ago  were  among  the  lowest  savages  known  to  us. 
They  wore  no  clothing ;  they  had  not  learned  how  to  build  a 
hut ;  they  did  not  know  how  to  make  a  bow  and  arrows,  nor 
even  to  fish.  They  had  no  goats,  sheep,  or  cows,  no  horses, 
nor  even  a  dog.  They  had  never  heard  of  sowing  seed  nor 
raising  a  crop  of  any  kind.  They  did  not  know  that  clay  will 
harden  in  the  fire,  and  so  they  had  no  pottery  jars,  jugs,  or 
dishes  for  food. 

Naked  and  houseless,  the  Tasmanians  had  learned  to  satisfy 
only  a  very  few  of  man's  needs.  Yet  that  which  they  had 
learned  had  carried  them  a  long  way  beyond  the  earliest  men. 
They  could  kindle  a  fire,  which  kept  them  warm  in  cold  weather, 
and  over  it  they  cooked  their  meat.  In  order  to  secure  this 
meat  they  had  learned  to  construct  very  good  spears,  though 
without  metal  tips,  for  they  had  never  heard  of  metal.    These 


stone  tools 


Early  Mankind  in  Europe  3 

spears  they  could  throw  with  great  accuracy  and  thus  bring 
down  the  game  they  needed  for  food,  or  drive  away  their 
human  enemies.  They  could  take  a  flat  stone,  and  by  chipping 
off  its  edges  to  thin  them  they  could  produce  a  rude  knife 
with  which  to  skin  and  cut  up  the  game  they  killed.  They  were 
also  very  deft  in  making  cups,  vessels,  and  baskets  of  bark 
fiber.  Above  all,  they  had  a  simple  language,  with  words  for  all 
the  things  they  used,  and  this  language  served  for  everything 
they  needed  to  say. 

It  is  certain  that  man  has  existed  on  the  earth  for  several  Progress  of 
hundred  thousand  years  at  least.  We  cannot  now  trace  all  the  ^rTceable\y 
different  stages  in  his  progress,  which  brought  him  at  last  as  "s  a^fter  he  be- 
far  as  the  savage  Tasmanians  had  come.  We  do  not  know  all 
the  various  steps  which  finally  enabled  him  to  speak.  With  fire 
he  would  become  acquainted  from  the  forest  fires  kindled  by 
lightning,  or  from  the  floods  of  molten  lava  descending  the 
slopes  of  the  fiery  mountains  along  the  Mediterranean.  The 
wooden  clubs  and  other  weapons  or  tools  of  wood  which  he 
made  in  this  stage  of  his  career  have,  of  course,  long  ago  per- 
ished. As  soon  as  he  began  to  make  stone  tools,  however,  he  was 
producing  something  which  might  last  for  untold  thousands  of 
years.  This  art  he  first  learned  in  Europe  some  fifty  thousand 
years  ago.  After  that  he  left  behind  him  a  trail  of  stone  tools, 
and  by  these  we  can  follow  him  through  the  different  stages  of 
his  upward  progress,  as  they  show  us  his  increasing  skill  in  such 
matters.  We  thus  find  that  he  passed  through  three  stages  :  the 
Early  Stone  Age,  the  Middle  Stone  Age,  and  the  Late  Stone  Age. 

Section  2.  The  Early  Stone  Age 

A  few  rough  and  irregular  fragments  of  flint  still  survive  to   Early  Stone 
show  us  man's  earliest  attempts  to  make  weapons  or  tools  of 
stone.    The  form  which  he  finally  adopted  as  his  first  successful 
tool,  however,  is  a  roughly  shaped  piece  of  flint  as  long  as  a 
man's   hand,  which  we   call  a  fist-hatchet  (Fig.  i).    Its  ragged 


Age  tools 


Outlines  of  European  History 


,y^^.. 


edge  was  sufficiently  sharp  so  that  its  owner  could  cut  and 
chop  with  it.  Its  maker  had  not  learned  to  attach  a  handle,  but 
he  grasped  it  firmly  in  his  fist.  The 
first  of  these  fist-hatchets  discovered  in 
modern  times  was  found  in  England 
two  hundred  years  ago,  but  at  that 
time  no  one  understood  its  enormous 
age,  or  guessed  who  had  made  it.  For 
the  last  fifty  years  such  fist-hatchets 
have  been  found  in  large  numbers 
deeply  buried  under  the  sand  and 
soil  that  has  gathered  since  their 
owners  used  them  along  the  rivers 
of  France,  Belgium,  and  England. 
They  are  found  side  by  side  with 
the  bones  of  tropical  animals  of  vast 
size,  showing  that  the  men  who 
made  these  stone  tools  lived  in  a 
much  warmer  climate  than  that  of 
Europe  to-day. 

We  may  call  the  period  of  the 
fist-hatchets  the  Early  Stone  Age. 
The  man  of  that  day,  some  fifty 
thousand  years  ago,  led  the  life  of 
a  hunter,  roaming  about  in  the 
shadows  of  the  lofty  forests  which 
fringed  the  streams  and  covered  the 
wide  plains  of  western  Europe.  The 
ponderous  hippopotamus  wallowed 
along  the  banks  oY  the  rivers.  The 
fierce  rhinoceros  with  a  horn  three 
feet  long  charged  through  the  jungles 
of  what  is  now  France  and  England. 
The  hunter  fleeing  before  them  caught  dim  glimpses  of  moun- 
tainous elephants  plunging  through  the  thick  tropical  growth. 


Fig.    I.     A  Flint   Fist- 
hatchet  OF  THE  Early 
Stone  Age 

The  earliest  finished  tool 
produced  by  man,  chipped 
from  a  great  flake  of  flint 
some  fifty  thousand  years 
ago.  The  original  is  about 
nine  inches  long,  and  the 
drawing  reduces  it  to  less 
than  one  third.  It  was 
grasped  in  the  fist  by  the 
upper  (narrower)  part,  and 
never  had  any  handle.  Han- 
dles of  wood  or  horn  do 
not  appear  until  much  later 
(compare  Fig.  7) 


of  the  ice 


Eaj'ly  Mankind  in  Europe  5 

Herds  of  bison  and  wild  horses  grazed  on  the  uplands  and 
the  glades  resounded  far  and  wide  with  the  notes  of  tropical 
birds  which  settled  in  swarms  upon  the  tree  tops.  At  night  the 
hunter  slept  where  the  chase  found  him,  trembling  in  the 
darkness  at  the  roar  of  the  lion  or  the  mighty  saber-tooth 
tiger. 

For  thousands  of  years  the  life  of  the  hunter  went  on  with  The  coming 
litde  change.  He  slowly  improved  his  rough  stone  fist-hatchet, 
and  he  probably  learned  to  make  additional  implements  of 
wood,  but  of  these  last  we  know  nothing.  Then  he  began  to 
notice  that  the  air  of  his  forest  home  was  losing  its  tropical' 
warmth.  Geologists  have  not  yet  found  out  why,  but  as  the 
centuries  passed,  the  ice  which  all  the  year  round  still  overlies 
the  region  of  the  North  Pole  and  the  summits  of  the  Alps  be- 
gan to  descend.  The  northern  ice  crept  further  and  further 
southward  until  it  covered  England  as  far  south  as  the  Thames. 
The  glaciers  of  the  Alps  pushed  down  the  Rhone  valley  as  far 
as  the  spot  where  the  city  of  Lyons  now  stands.  On  our  own 
continent  of  North  America  the  southern  edge  of  the  ice  is 
marked  by  lines  of  bowlders  carried  and  left  there  by  the  ice. 
Such  lines  of  bowlders  are  found,  for  example,  as  far  south  as 
Long  Island  and  westward  along  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and 
the  Missouri.^  The  hunter  saw  the  glittering  blue  masses  of  ice 
with  their  crown  of  snow,  pushing  through  the  green  of  his  forest 
abode  and  crushing  down  vast  trees  in  many  a  sheltered  glen  or 
favorite  hunting  ground.  Gradually  these  savage  men  of  early 
F.urope  were  forced  to  accustom  themselves  to  a  cold  climate, 
but  many  of  the  animals  familiar  to  the  hunter  retreated  to  the 
warmer  south,  never  to  return. 


1  Geologists  have  now  shown  that  the  ice  advanced  southward  and  retreated 
to  the  north  again,  no  less  than  four  times.  Following  each  advance  of  the  ice 
a  warm  interval  caused  its  retreat.  There  were  four  warm  intervals,  and  we  are 
now  living  in  the  fourth.  The  evidence  now  indicates  that  man  began  to 'make 
stone  implements  in  the  third  warm  interval.  The  last  advance  of  the  ice  there- 
fore took  place  between  us  and  them.  It  is  perhaps  some  thirty  thousand  years 
ago  that  the  ice  began  to  come  south  for  the  last  time. 


Outlines  of  European  Histofy 
Section  3.    The  Middle  Stone  Age 


Remains  of 
Middle  Stone 
Age  man  in 
caverns 


Unable  to  build  himself  a  shelter  from  the  cold,  the  hunter 
took  refuge  in  the  limestone  caves,  where  he  and  his  descend- 
ants continued  to  live  for  thousands  of  years,  during  the  next 

or  "  Middle  Stone 
Age."  Archaeolo- 
gists now  find  in 
the  caverns  of 
France,  Spain,  and 
Italy  numerous 
objects  used  by 
these  cave  men 
during  their  long 
sojourn  in  the 
caverns.  Rubbish, 
once  even  as 
much  as  forty  feet 
deep,  accumulated 
on  the  cavern 
floor,  as  century 
after  century  the 
sand  and  earth 
blew  in,  and  frag- 
ments of  rock  fell 
from  the  ceiling. 
To-day  we  find 
among  all  this  also 
many  layers  of 
ashes  and  char- 
coal from  the  cave  dwellers'  fire,  besides  numerous  tools, 
weapons,  and  implements  which  he  used.  These  things  dis- 
close, step  after  step,  his  slow  progress  and  show  us  that  man 
had  now  left  the  old  fist-hatchet  far  behind  and  become  a  real 
craftsman. 


Fig.  2. 


Selection  of  Flint  Tools  of 
Middle  Stone  Age  Man 


These  tools  are  not  only  more  highly  varied  than 
man  possessed  before  (see  Fig.  i)  but  they  are 
much  more  finely  finished,  especially  along  the 
edges,  where  you  can  see  that  tiny  flakes  have 
been  chipped  off  in  a  long  row,  producing  a 
sharp  cutting  edge.  Many  thousands  of  years 
elapsed  from  the  time  of  Fig.  i  to  that  of  Fig.  2 


Early  Mankind  i7i  Europe  J 

We  see  him  at  the  door  of  his  cave,  carefully  chipping  off  the   The  indus- 
edge  of  his  flint  tools  and  producing  such  a  fine  cutting  edge  that   MTdd?e  Stone 
he  can  use  it  to  shape  bone,  ivory,  and  especially  reindeer  horn.   ^^^  "^^" 
The  mammoth  furnishes  him  with  ivory,  and  great  herds  of  rein- 
deer which  had  come  southward  with  the  ice  are  grazing  before 
the  mouth  of  the  cavern.    The  hunter  has  a  considerable  list  of 
tools  from  which  he  can  select.    We  see  at  his  elbow  knives, 
chisels,  drills  and  hammers,  polishers  and  scrapers,  all  of  flint 
(Fig.  2) ;  while  with  these  he  works  out  pins,  needles,  spoons, 
and  ladles,  all  of  ivory  or  bone,  and  carves  them  with  pictures  of 
the  animals  he  hunts  in 

the  forest  (Fig.  4).    He  o> 

now  fashions    a    keen,  Fig.  3.   Ivory  Needle  of  the 

barbed       ivory      spear  Middle  Stone  Age 

point,  which  he  mounts  with  such  needles  and  with  tendons  as 
on  a  long  wooden  shaft.  thread  the  skin  clothing  of  the  Middle 
He  has  also  discovered  ^^^^^^  Age  hunters  was  sewed  together 
by  the  earliest  seamstresses  of  Europe, 
the  bow  and  arrow  and  twenty  or  twenty-five  thousand  years  ago 
carries  at  his   girdle  a 

sharp  flint  dagger.  The  fine  ivory  needles  (Fig.  3)  show  that 
the  hunter's  body  is  now  protected  from  cold  and  the  brambles 
of  the  trackless  forest  by  clothing  sewed  together  out  of  the 
skins  of  the  animals  he  has  slain. 

Thus  equipped  the  hunter  of  the  Middle  Stone  Age  was  a  Life  of  the 
much  more  dangerous  foe  of  the  wild  creatures  than  his  ancestors  ^ge  hunter"^ 
of  the  Early  Stone  Age.  In  a  single  cavern  in  Sicily  archaeolo- 
gists have  dug  out  the  bones  of  no  less  than  two  thousand  hippo- 
potami which  these  Middle  Stone  Age  hunters  killed.  Here 
too  lay  even  the  bone  whistle  with  which  the  returning  hunter 
announced  his  coming  to  the  hungry  family  waiting  in  the  cave. 
Surrounded  by  revolting  piles  of  garbage  and  amid  foul  odors 
of  decaying  flesh  our  savage  European  ancestor  crept  into  his 
cave  dwelling  at  night,  little  realizing  that  many  feet  beneath  the 
cavern  floor  on  which  he  slept  lay  the  remains  of  his  ancestors 
in  layer  upon  layer,  the  accumulations  of  thousands  of  years. 


8 


Outlijics  of  European  History 


Middle  Stone 
Age  art 


It  is  not  a  little  astonishing  to  find  that  these  Middle  Stone 
Age  hunters  could  draw  and  even  paint  with  the  greatest  skill. 
In  the  caverns  of  southern  F" ranee  and  northern  Spain  their 


Fig.  4.  Drawings  carved  by  Middle  Stone  Age  Man 
ox  Ivory 

/,  marching  line  of  reindeer  with  salmon  in  the  spaces  —  probably  a  talis- 
man to  bring  the  hunter  and  fisherman  good  hick  (see  p.  9)  ;  ^,  a  bison 
bull  at  bay  (not  on  ivory  but  incised  in  the  rock  of  a  cavern  wall ;  over 
one  hundred  fifty  caverns  containing  such  paintings  and  carvings  are 
known  in  France  and  Spain) ;  j>,  a  grazing  reindeer ;  ^,  a  running  rein- 
deer. These  carvings  are  the  oldest  works  of  art  by  man,  made  fifteen 
or  twenty  thousand  years  ago.  The  work  was  done  with  the  pointed 
and  edged  tools  of  flint  shown  in  Fig.  2 


paintings  have  been  found  in  surprising  numbers  in  recent  years. 
Long  lines  of  bison,  deer,  or  wild  horses  cover  the  walls  and  ceil- 
ings of  these  caves.    They  arc  startling  in  their  lifelikeness  and 


Ea^dy  Mankind  in  Europe  9 

vigor.  Sometimes  they  are  carved  in  the  rock  wall  of  the 
cavern  (Fig.  4,  2) ;  again  the  ancient  hunter  employed  colored 
earth  mixed  with  grease,  and  thus  produced  paintings  which  still 
survive  on  the  cavern  wall.  We  may  suppose  that  the  hunter 
believed  the  presence  of  this  pictured  game  filling  his  cavern 


Fig.  5.   Restoration  of  a  Swass  Lake-Dwellers' 
Settlement 

The  lake-dwellers  felled  trees  with  their  stone  axes  (Fig.  7,  5)  ana  cut 
them  into  piles  some  twenty  feet  long,  sharpened  at  the  lower  eud. 
These  they  drove  several  feet  into  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  in  water 
eight  or  ten  feet  deep.  On  a  platform  supported  by  these  piles  they 
then  built  their  houses.  The  platform  was  connected  with  the  shore  by 
a  bridge,  which  may  be  seen  here  on  the  right.  A  section  of  it  could 
be  removed  at  night  for  protection.  The  fish  nets  seen  drying  at  the 
rail,  the  "  dug-out "  boat  of  the  hunters  who  bring  in  the  deer,  and 
many  other  things  have  been  found  on  the  lake  bottom  in  recent  times 


would  work  magically  to  aid  him  in  filling  it  with  the  real  game 
which  he  daily  sought  to  bring  in  there.  For  the  same  reason  also 
he  decorated  the  ivory  and  bone  weapons  which  he  used  with 
the  figures  of  the  animals, he  pursued  (Fig.  4,  7,  j,  4).  This  is 
the  earliest  art  in  the  whole  career  of  man,  in  so  far  as  we  know. 


lO 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Section  4.  The  Late  Stone  Age 

The  signs  left  by  the  ice,  and  still  observable  in  Europe,  would 
lead  us  to  think  that  it  withdrew  northward  for  the  last  time 
probably  some  ten  thousand  years  ago.  The  climate  again  grew 
warmer  and  became  what  it  is  to-day.  Men  were  soon  after  mak- 
ing rapid  advances.    They  had  now  learned  that  it  was  possible 


f^j  ■'7j'>;'TOf,^^^§^'Hi»s>>-'v  .-'S;.--  ^J^^l 


Fig.  6.   Surviving  Remains  of  a  Swiss  Lake-Village 

After  an  unusually  dry  season  the  Swiss  lakes  fell  to  a  very  low  level 
in  1854,  exposing  the  lake  bottom  with  the  remains  of  the  piles  which 
once  supported  the  lake  villages  along  the  shores.  They  were  thus  dis- 
covered for  the  first  time.  On  the  old  lake  bottom,  among  the  projecting 
piles,  were  found  great  quantities  of  implements,  tools,  and  furniture, 
like  those  in  Fig.  7,  including  the  dug-outs  and  nets  of  Fig.  5,  wheat, 
barley,  bones  of  domestic  animals,  woven  flax,  etc.  (see  p.  12).  There 
they  had  been  lying  some  five  thousand  years.  Sometimes  the  objects 
were  found  in  two  distinct  layers,  the  lower  (earlier)  containing  only  stone 
tools,  and  the  upper  (later)  containing  b7'onze  tools,  which  came  into  the 
lake  village  at  a  later  age  and  fell  into  the  water  on  top  of  the  layer 
of  old  stone  tools  already  lying  on  the  bottom  of  the  lake  (see  p.  114) 


to  g7i7id  the  edge  of  a  stone  ax  or  chisel  (Fig.  7)  as  we  now  do 
with  tools  of  metal.  They  were  also  able  to  drill  a  hole  in  the 
stone  ax  head  and  insert  a  handle  (Fig.  7).  With  such  an  ax  they 
could  fell  trees  and  build  houses.  The  common  use  of  the  ground 
stone  ax  brings  in  the  Late  Stone  Age.  From  the  forests  of 
southern  Sweden  southward  to  Sicily  and  the  heel  of  Italy,  from 
the  marshes  of  Ireland  and  the  harbors  of  Spain  eastward  to  the 


Early  Mankind  in  Europe 


II 


Greek  islands  and  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  the  villages  ot 
Late  Stone  Age  man  stretched  far  across  Europe.  The  smoke 
of  his  settlements  rose  through  the  forests  and  high  over  the 


Fig.  7.   Part  of  the  Equipment  of  a  Late  Stone  Age 
Lake  Dweller 

This  group  contains  the  evidence  for  three  important  inventions  made 
or  received  by  the  men  of  the  Late  Stone  Age  :  first,  pottery  jars, 
like  2  and  j,  with  rude  decorations,  the  oldest  baked  clay  in  Europe, 
and  /,  a  large  kettle  in  which  the  lake-dwellers'  food  was  cooked; 
second,  ground-edged  tools  like  4,  stone  chisel  with  ground  edge  (p.  10), 
mounted  in  a  deerhorn  handle  like  a  hatchet,  or  5,  stone  ax  with  a' 
ground  edge,  and  pierced  with  a  hole  for  the  ax  handle  (the  houses  of 
Fig.  5  were  built  with  such  tools) ;  and  third,  weaving,  as  shown  by  6,  a 
spinning  "  whorl "  of  baked  clay,  the  earliest  spinning  wheel.  When 
suspended  by  a  rough  thread  of  flax  eighteen  to  twenty  inches  long,  it 
was  given  a  whirl  which  made  it  spin  in  the  air  like  a  top,  thus  rapidly 
twisting  the  thread  by  which  it  was  hanging.  The  thread  when  suffi- 
ciently twisted  was  wound  up,  and  another  length  of  eighteen  or  twenty 
inches  was  drawn  out  from  the  unspun  flax  to  be  similarly  twisted. 
One  of  these  earliest  spinning  wheels  has  been  found  in  the  Swiss 
lakes  with  a  spool  of  flaxen  thread  still  attached.  (From  photograph 
loaned  by  Professor  Hoernes) 

lakes  and  valleys  of  Switzerland  and  northern  Italy,  where  his 
villages  of  pile  dwellings  (Fig.  5)  fringed  the  shores  of  the  lakes. 
His  roofs  dotted  the  plains  and  nestled  in  the  inlets  of  the  sea, 


12 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Civilization 
of  the  Late 
Stone  Age ; 
wooden 
dwellings 
and  wooden 
furniture 


Discovery  of 
burned  clay 
and  appear- 
ance of  earli- 
est pottery 


Flax  and 

woven 

clothing 


Seed-bearing 
wild  grasses 
become  do- 
mesticated 
grain 


Domestica- 
tion of  cattle, 
sheep,  and 
goats 


Earliest  carts 


Communities 
organized 


whence  they  were  strewn  far  up  the  winding  valleys  of  the  rivers 
into  the  interior  of  P".urope. 

The  wooden  dwellings  of  the  Late  Stone  Age  are  the  earliest 
such  shelters  found  in  Europe.  Sunken  fragments  of  these  houses 
are  found  all  along  the  shores  of  the  Swiss  lakes,  lying  at  the 
bottom,  among  the  piles  which  supported  the  houses  of  the  village 
(Fig.  6).  Pieces  of  stools,  chests,  carved  dippers,  spoons,  and 
the  like,  all  of  wood,  show  that  these  houses  were  equipped  with 
convenient  wooden  furniture.  The  householder  now  knows  that 
clay  will  harden  in  the  fire,  and  he  makes  handy  jars,  bowls,  and 
dishes  of  burned  clay  (Fig.  7).  Although  roughly  made  without 
the  use  of  the  potter's  wheel  and  unevenly  burned  without  an 
oven,  they  add  much  to  the  equipment  of  his  dwelling.  Before 
his  door  the  women  spin  their  flax,  and  the  rough  skin  clothing 
of  his  ancestors  has  given  way  to  garments  of  woven  stuff.  Up 
the  hillside  stretches  the  field  of  flax,  and  beside  it  another  of 
wheat  or  of  barley.  The  seeds  which  their  ancestors  once  gath- 
ered from  the  scattered  tufts  of  the  wild  grasses,  these  Late  Stone 
Age  men  have  slowly  learned  may  be  planted  near  the  dwelling 
in  ground  prepared  for  the  purpose.  Thus  wild  grain  is  domes- 
ticated, and  agriculture  has  been  mtroduced. 

On  the  green  uplands  above  are  now  feeding  the  creatures 
which  the  Middle  Stone  Age  man  once  pursued  through  the 
wilds,  for  the  mountain  sheep  and  goats  and  the  wild  cattle 
have  now  learned  to  dwell  near  man  and  submit  to  his  control. 
Indeed,  the  wild  ox  bows  his  neck  to  the  yoke  and  draws  the 
plow  across  the  forest-girt  field  where  he  once  wandered  in 
untrammeled  freedom.  Fragments  of  wooden  wheels  in  the 
lake-villages  show  that  he  is  also  drawing  the  wheeled  cart,  the 
earliest  in  Europe.  Groups  of  massive  tombs  still  surviving, 
built  of  enormous  blocks  of  stone  (Fig.  8),  requiring  the  united 
efforts  of  large  numbers  of  men,  disclose  to  us  the  beginnings 
of  cooperation  and  social  unity.  The  driving  of  fifty  thousand 
piles  for  the  lake-village  at  Wangen  shows  that  men  were 
learning  to  work  together  in  communities,  but  a  flint  arrowhead 


Early  Mankind  in  Europe 


\-.^>^:^'/^vA.^ 


/I 


^:; 


M    1  |. 


% 


Fig.  8.   Late  Stone  Age  Tomb  in  France 

These  tombs  are  found  in  great  numbers,  especially  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  Europe  (but  also  in  north  Africa)  from  Gibraltar  to  the  Norse 
peninsulas,  where  they  still  stand  by  thousands.  One  Danish  island 
alone  contains  thirty-four  hundred  of  them.  It  was  in  such  a  tomb  that 
a  dead  chief  of  the  Late  Stone  Age  was  buried.  The  stones,  weighing 
even  as  much  as  forty  tons  apiece,  were  sometimes  dragged  by  his 
people  many  miles  from  the  nearest  quarry 


found  still  sticking  in  the  eyehole  of  a  .skull  reminds  us  that 
these  communities  were  often  at  war  with  one  another ;  while 
amber  from  the  north  and  the  wide  distribution  of  a  certain 
kind  of  flint  found  in  only  one  mine  of  France  tell  us  of 
the  commerce  which  wandered  from  one  community  to  another. 
Such  mines  reveal  very  vividly  the  industries  of  this  remote 
age.  A  mine  opened  by  archaeologists  in  England  still  contained 
eighty  much-worn  picks  of  deerhorn  used  by  the  flint  miners ; 
while  in  Belgium  a  fall  of  rock  from  the  ceiling  covered  and 
preserved  to  us  even  the  body  of  one  of  these  ancient  miners. 


War 


Commerce 


14 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Section  5.  Late  Stone  Age  Europe  and  the  Orient 


The  pre- 
historic 
traders 


Ships  of  the 
Nile  in  the 
far-away  East 


The  traders" 
oriental 
goods,  espe- 
cially their 
copper  axes 
and  daggers 


There  are  certain  traders  whose  wares  these  Late  Stone  Age 
villagers  inspect  with  eagerness.  They  come  from  the  coast  and 
they  are  already  threading  the  Alpine  passes  leading  northward 
from  southern  Europe  —  roads  which  are  yet  to  become  the 
great  highways  of  the  early  world.  These  traders  entertain  the 
villagers  of  the  European  interior  with  the  tales  which  circulate 
among  the  coast  settlements,  telling  how  huge  ships  (Fig.  14) 
—  which  make  their  own  rude  dugouts  (Fig.  5)  look  like  tiny 
chips  —  ply  back  and  forth  in  the  eastern  waters  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. Such  ships  have  many  oarsmen  on  each  side  and 
mighty  fir  trunks  mounted  upright  in  the  craft,  carrying  huge 
sheets  of  linen  to  catch  the  favoring  wind  which  drives  them 
swiftly,  without  oars,  from  land  to  land.  They  come  out  of  the 
many  mouths  of  the  vast  river  of  Eg}'pt,  greater  than  any  river 
in  the  world,  says  the  tale,  and  they  bear  crowded  cargoes  of 
beautiful  stone  vases,  strings  of  shining  blue-glazed  beads  (see 
cut,  p.  1 6),  bolts  of  fine  linen,  and,  above  all,  axes  and  daggers  of  a 
strange,  heavy,  shining  substance,  for  which  these  European  vil- 
lagers have  no  name.  They  listen  with  awe-struck  faces  and 
rapt  attention ;  and  in  their  traffic  they  desire  above  all  else  the 
new  axes  and  daggers  of  metal  which  take  a  keener  edge  than 
any  they  can  fashion  of  stone. 

Strings  of  Eg}'ptian  blue-glazed  beads, ^  brought  in  by  traders, 
wandered  from  hand  to  hand  and  people  to  people  in  western 
Europe  ;  and  we  find  them  now  lying  in  graves  among  the  orna- 
ments once  worn  by  the  men  of  the  Late  Stone  or  early  Copper 
Age  in  England.  In  the  East  the  people  of  a  Late  Stone  Age 
village  on  the  low  hill  in  northwestern  Asia  Minor  where  later 
rose  the  walls  of  Troy  (p.  117);  likewise  the  people  of  another 
settlement  of  the  same  age  near  the  north  shore  of  the  Island 
of  Crete,  yet  to  become  the  flourishing  city  of  Cnossus  (p.  120); 


1  Examples  of  these  blue-glazed  Egj'ptian  beads  discovered  in  prehistoric 
graves  of  England  will  be  found  in  the  drawing  at  the  end  of  Chapter  I  (p.  i6)- 


Early  Mankind  in  Europe  1 5 

and  other  communities  scattered  through  the  yEgean  islands, — 
these  eastern  people  have  even  seen  those  marvelous  ships  of 
the  Nile  with  their  huge  spars  and  wide  sails  and  have  trafficked 
with  them  on  the  seashore. 

Thus  at  the  dawn  of  history,  barbarian  Europe  looked  across   Stone  Age 
the  Mediterranean  to  the  great  civilization  of  the  Nile,  as  our  own  the'^cmiized 
North  American  Indians  fixed  their  wondering  eves  on  the  first   O''^^'^'  (3°°° 

^      J  to  2000  B.C.) 

Europeans  who  landed  in  America  and  listened  to  like  strange 
tales  of  great  and  distant  peoples.  But  these  Late  Stone  Age 
men  had  now  (about  2500  B.C.)  reached  the  limit  of  their  re- 
sources. Without  writing  (for  the  records  of  business,  govern- 
ment, and  tradition) ;  without  metals  (save  the  trader's  copper 
ax  and  dagger) ;  without  stanch  ships  in  which  to  develop  com- 
merce,—  they  could  go  no  further.  Perhaps  the  Late  Stone  Age 
villagers  recalled  a  dim  tradition  of  their  fathers  that  grain  and 
flax,  cattle  and  sheep,  first  came  to  them  from  the  same  wonder- 
land of  the  far  East,  whence  now  came  the  copper  ax  and  the 
blue-glazed  beads.  It  was  after  receiving  such  contributions  as 
these  from  the  Orient,  that  Europe  went  forward  to  the  develop- 
ment of  a  higher  civilization,  and  in  order  to  understand  the 
further  course  of  European  history,  we  must  turn  to  the  Orient 
whence  came  these  things  by  which  the  life  of  our  European 
ancestors  entered  upon  a  new  epoch. 

Let  us  remember  as  we  go  to  the  Orient  that  the  age  of  man's  Summary 
prehisto7'ic  career  ^  lasted  some  fifty  thousand  years,  and  that  in 
the  Orient  he  began  to  enter  upon  a  high  civilization  in  the  his- 
toric epoch  during  the  thousand  years  from  4000  to  3000  b.c.^ 
(in  eastern  Europe  a  thousand  years  later). '■^  Civilization  is  thus 
between  five  and  six  thousand  years  old.  It  arose  in  the  Orient, 
in  the  eastern  Mediterranean  region,  and  civilized  supremacy 
both  in  peace  and  war  shifted  slowly  from  the  Orient  west- 
ward. It  was  not  till  about  500  B.C.  that  the  Greeks  became  the 
leaders  in  matters  of  civilization.    They,  with  the  rest  of  the 

1  That  is,  before  he  began  to  leave  any  written  traces  of  his  existence. 

2  In  western  Europe  not  until  after  500  B.C.  or  even  much  later. 


1 6  Outlines  of  E2iropea7i  History 

Mediterranean  world,  were  gradually  subdued  by  the  Romans, 
until  Roman  power  was  supreme  and  practically  universal  not 
long  after  200  b.c.  We  have  therefore  first  to  trace  the  career 
of  the  Orient,  and  then  to  follow  civilization  as  it  developed 
among  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  i  .  How  did  early  man  learn  to  do  things  ?  Was  there  any 
one  to  tell  him  ?  Describe  the  probable  condition  of  the  earliest  men. 
What  men  have  actually  been  found  in  a  state  almost  as  low  as  this  ? 
Describe  their  possessions.  Hovv\  long  has  man  existed  on  earth? 
At  what  point  can  we  begin  to  trace  his  progress  ? 

Sectiox  2.  Describe  man's  earliest  tools.  How  did  he  live,  and 
what  was  Europe  then  like  .^  What  do  we  call  this  age  t  What  great 
change  brought  it  to  an  end  ? 

Section  3.  Where  did  man  then  take  refuge  ?  Describe  his  prog- 
ress ;  his  home.   What  art  did  he  possess  ? 

Section  4.  When  did  the  ice  withdraw  for  the  last  time  .'*  What 
new  treatment  of  his  edged  tools  did  man  now  discover.?  Make  a 
list  of  his  new  possessions  in  this  age.  W' hat  remains  and  evidences 
of  the  existence  of  towns  and  communities  still  survive  t 

Section  5.  What  wares  did  the  traders  bring  into  the  Late  Stone 
Age  setdements  of  inland  Europe?  How  were  they  brought  across 
the  Mediterranean?  What  great  people  already  had  ships?  Where 
did  high  civilization  first  arise  ? 


CHAPTER   II 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


Section  6.    Egypt  and  its  Earliest  Inhabitants 


The  traveler  who  visits  Egypt  at  the  present  day  lands  in  a 
very  modern  looking  harbor  at  Alexandria.  He  is  presently 
seated  in  a  comfortable  railway  car  in  which  we  may  accom- 
pany him  as  he  is  carried  rapidly  across  a  low  fiat  country,  stretch- 
ing far  away  to  the  sunlit  horizon.  The  wide  expanse  is  dotted 
with  little  villages  of  dark,  mud-brick  huts,  and  here  and  there 
rise  groves  of  graceful  palms.  The  landscape  is  carpeted  with 
stretches  of  bright  and  vivid  green  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see, 
and  wandering  through  this  verdure  is  a  network  of  irrigation 
canals  (Fig.  lo).  Brown-skinned  men  of  slender  build,  with  dark 
hair,  are  seen  at  intervals  along  the  banks  of  these  canals,  sway- 
ing up  and  down  as  they  rhythmically  lift  an  irrigation  bucket 
attached  to  a  simple  device  (Fig.  9),  exactly  like  the  "  well  sweep  " 
of  our  grandfathers  in  New  England.  It  is  kept  going  day  and 
night,  as  one  man  relieves  another,  and  the  irrigation  trenches, 
branching  all  over  the  field,  are  thus  kept  full  of  water  for  about 
a  hundred  days  until  the  grain  ripens.  It  is  the  best  of  evidence 
that  Egypt  enjoys  no  rain. 

The  black  soil  we  see  from  the  train  is  unexcelled  in  fertility, 
and  it  is  enriched  each  year  by  the  overflow  of  the  river,  whose 
turbid  waters  rise  above  its  banks  every  summer,  spread  far 
over  the  flats  (Fig.  10)  and  stand  there  long  enough  to  deposit 
a  very  thin  layer  of  rich  earthy  sediment.  All  this  plain  over 
which  the  train  moves  southward  consists  of  such  sediment, 
which  the  river  has  brought  down  from  its  sources  far  away 
in  Africa.    In  the  course  of  ages  it  has  filled  up  the  ancient 

I  17 


Egypt  of 
to-day 


Its  soil  and 
area 


i8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Fig.  9.   An  Egyptian  Shadoof,  the 
Oldest  of  Well  Sweeps,  irrigat- 
ing THE  Fields 

The  man  below  stands  in  the  water,  hold- 
ing his  leather  bucket.  The  pole  of  the 
sweep  is  above  him,  with  large  ball  of 
dried  Nile  mud  on  its  lower  end  as  a  lifting 
weight,  or  counterpoise,  seen  just  behind 
the  supporting  post.  This  man  lifts  the 
water  into  a  mud  basin  just  at  his  left 
elbow  behind  the  supporting  post.  A 
second  man  (in  the  middle)  lifts  it  from 
this  first  (lower)  basin  to  a  second  (middle) 
basin  into  which  he  is  just  emptying  his 
bucket;  while  a  third  man  (above)  lifts 
the  water  from  the  middle  basin  to  the 
uppermost  basin  on  the  top  of  the  bank, 
where  it  runs  off  to  the  left  into  trenches 
spreading  over  the  fields.  The  low  water 
makes  three  successive  hfts  necessary 


triangular  gulf  of  the 
Mediterranean  which 
we  call  the  Delta,  and 
which  we  are  now 
crossing.  Lying  with 
its  point  to  the  south, 
this  Delta  is  connected 
with  the  Nile  valley  be- 
yond as  a  flower  is  at- 
tached to  its  stem,  the 
Delta  being  the  flower 
and  the  long  valley  on 
the  south  the  stem  (see 
map,  p.  56).  The  Delta 
and  the  valley  together 
as  far  as  the  First 
Cataract  contain  over 
ten  thousand  square 
miles  of  cultivable  soil, 
or  somewhat  more  than 
the  state  of  Vermont. 

As  our  train  ap- 
proaches the  southern 
point  of  the  Delta,  about 
a  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles  from  the  sea, 
we  begin  to  see  the 
heights  on  either  side 
of  the  valley  into  which 
the  narrow  end  of  the 
Delta  merges.  These 
heights  (Figs.  10,  29) 
are  the  plateau  of  the 
Sahara  Desert  through 
which  the  Nile  has  cut 


The  Stor)'  of  Egypt 


19 


-^^%: 

r^^^ 


a  vast,  deep  trench  as  it  winds  its  way  northward  from  in- 
ner Africa.  This  trench,  or  valley,  is  seldom  more  than  thirty 
miles  vdde,  while  the  strip  of  soil  on  each  side  of  the  river 
rarely  exceeds  ten  miles  in  width.  On  either  edge  of  the  soil 
strip,  one  steps  out  of 
the  green  fields  into 
the  sand  of  the  desert, 
which  has  drifted  into 
the  trench ;  or  if  one 
climbs  the  cliffs  form- 
ing the  walls  of  the 
trench,  he  stands  look- 
ing out  over  a  vast 
waste  of  rocky  hills 
and  stretches  of  sand 
trembling  in  the  heat 
of  the  blazing  sun- 
shine, which  flames 
far  across  the  desert. 
Then  one  realizes  that 
Egypt  is  simply  a  lovv^ 
narroW|  winding  line 
of  green  (see  map, 
p.  56),  watered  by  the 
Nile,  in  the  midst  of 
a  rainless  desert 
plateau  which  looks 
down  upon  it  from 
either   side. 

As  we  journey  on 
let  us  realize  also  that 
this  valley  can  tell  an 

unbroken  story  of  human  progress  such  as  we  can  find  nowhere 
else.  The  earliest  chapter  of  the  story  must  be  sought  in  the 
oldest  cemeteries  in  the  world.   We  look  out  upon  the  sandy 


rC 

i\  \^ 

^^^K 

^^^^s^^ 

— -^    ^    ^        , 

Fig.  10.  View  across  the  Nile  Val- 
ley  FROM   the   Top   of   the    Great 
Pyramid 

Our  point  of  view  is  from  an  elevation  on 
the  plateau  of  the  western  (Sahara)  desert, 
looking  eastward  to  the  corresponding  cliffs, 
or  heights  (p.  19),  which  limit  the  great 
trench  of  the  Nile  valley  on  the  other  (east) 
side.  At  the  left  (north)  expands  the  vast 
plain  of  the  Delta  (p.  18).  We  can  see  the 
irrigation  canals  below,  and  nearer,  just  along 
the  margin  of  the  desert,  once  stretched  the 
royal  city  of  the  kings  buried  in  the  pyramids 
of  Gizeh  (Plate  I) 


20 


Ontlitics  of  European  Histoiy 


The  Stone 
Age  Egyp- 
tians 


Earliest 
government 
and  taxes 


margin  of  the  desert  where  there  are  thousands  of  low  undulat- 
ing mounds,  covering  the  graves  of  the  earliest  ancestors  of  the 
brown  men  we  see  in  the  Delta  fields.  \Mien  we  have  dug  out 
such  a  grave  to  the  bottom  we  find  the  ancient  Nile  peasant 
lying  there,  surrounded  by  pottery  jars  and  stone  implements 
(Fig.  ii).  There  he  has  been  lying 
for  over  six  thousand  years,  and  the 
stone  tools  which  he  used  so  long 
ago  tell  us  that  he  lived  all  his  life 
without  having  known  anything  about 
metal.  Occasional  grains  of  wheat, 
barley,  or  millet,  however,  show  that 
his  women  were  already  cultivating 
grain  —  the  grain  that  later  passed 
to  Europe  (p.  12).  A  fragment  of 
linen  in  such  a  grave  shows  us  also 
where  Europe  derived  its  flax.  The 
peasant  at  the  bottom  of  this  grave 
was  therefore  watering  his  fields  of 
flax  and  grain  down  on  the  fertile 
soil  of  the  valley  over  six  thousand 
years  ago,  just  as  the  brown  men 
whom  the  traveler  sees  from  the  car 
windows  to-day  are  still  doing. 

The  villages  of  low  mud-brick  huts 
which  flash  by  the  car  windows  fur- 
nish us  also  with  an  exact  picture  of 
those  vanished  prehistoric  villages, 
the  homes  of  the  early  Nile  dwellers  who  are  still  lying  in 
yonder  cemeteries  on  the  desert  margin.*  In  such  a  village 
six  to  seven  thousand  years  ago,  lived  the  local  chieftain  who 
controlled  the  irrigation  canal  trenches  of  the  dtstrfctw  To 
him  the  peasant  was  required  to  carry  every  season  a  share 
of  the  grain  and  flax  which  he  gathered  from  his  field ;  other- 
wise the  supply  of  water  for  his  crops  would  stop,  and  he  would 


Fig  1 1 .   Looking  down 

INTO    THE    Grave    of 

A     Late     Stone    Age 

Egyptian 

An  oval  pit  four  or  five 
feet  deep,  excavated  on  the 
margin  of  the  desert.  The 
body  is  surrounded  by  pot- 
tery jars  once  containing 
food  and  drink  for  the  hfe 
hereafter.  Implements  of 
stone  placed  with  the  body 
are  also  found  still  lying  in 
the  grave 


TJic  Story  of  Egypt 


21 


receive  an  unpleasant  visit  from  the  chieftain,  demanding  instant 
payment.  These  were  the  earliest  taxes.  Such  transactions  led 
to  scratching  a  number  of  strokes  on  the  mud  wall  of  the 
peasant's  hut,  indicating  the  number  of 
measures  of  grain  he  had  paid.  At  length 
a  rude  picture  of  the  basket  grain-measure 
was  also  scratched  there,  to  make  it  clear 
to  what  the  strokes  referred.  In  this  and 
many  other  ways  the  peasant's  dealings 
with  his  neighbors  or  with  the  chieftain 
led  him  to  make  picture  records  (Fig.  12), 
and  these  are  the  earliest  writing  known, 
Gradually  each  picture  which  he  em- 
ployed came  to  have  a  fixed  form,  and 
each  picture  always  indicated   the  same 


word.   Let  us  imagine  for  convenience  that 
"  Egyptian  "  contained  the  English  word 


Fig.  12.     Example 
OF   THE   Earliest- 
Known    Egyptian 
Writing 


leaf."     It  would  be   written  thus 


^. 


The  Egyptian  would  in  course  of  time 
come  to  look  upon  the  leaf  as  the  sign 
for  the  S3dlable  "  leaf,"  wherever  it  might 
occur.  By  the  same  process  j^  might 
become  the  sign  for  the  syllable  "  bee " 
wherever  found.  Having  thus  a  means 
of  writing  the  syllables  "  bee  "  and  ''  leaf," 
the  next  step  was  to  put  them  together 
thus,  '\^  %>,  and  they  would  together 
represent  the  word  "  belief."  Notice,  how- 
ever, that  in  the  word  "  belief  "  the  sign 
\^  has  ceased  to  suggest  the  idea  of  a 
bee  but  only  the  syllable  "  be."   That  is  to 


Interpretation — above, 
the  falcon  (symbol  of 
a  king)  leading  a  hu- 
man head  by  a  cord  ; 
behind  the  head,  six 
lotus  leaves  (each  the 
sign  for  1000)  grow- 
ing out  of  the  ground 
to  which  the  head  is 
attached;  below,  a  sin- 
gle-barbed harpoon 
head  and  a  little  rec- 
tangle (the  sign  of  a 
lake).  The  whole  tells 
the  picture  story  that 
the  falcon  king  led 
captive  six  thousand 
men  of  the  land  of  the 
Harpoon  Lake 


say,  y^  has  become  a  pho7ietic  sign. 
In  this  way  early  man  could  write  many  names  of  things  of 
which  you  cannot  make  a  picture.  It  is  impossible  to  make  a 
picture  of  "  belief,"  as  you  can  of  a  jar  or  a  knife. 


22 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Advantage 
of  phonetic 
signs 


The  earliest 
alphabet 


Invention 
of  writing 
materials 


Ink 


Pen 


Paper 


If  the  writing  of  the  Egyptian  had  remained  merely  a  series 
of  pictures,  such  words  as  "  belief,"  "  hate,"  "  love,"  "  beauty," 
and  the  like  could  never  have  been  written.^  But  when  a  large 
number  of  his  pictures  had  become  phonetic  signs,  each  repre- 
senting a  syllable,  it  was  possible  for  the  Egyptian  to  write  any 
word  he  knew,  whether  the  word  meant  a  thing  of  which  he 
could  draw  a  picture  or  not.  This  possession  of  phonetic  signs 
is  what  makes  real  writing  for  the  first  time.  It  arose  among 
these  Nile  dwellers  *earlier  than  anywhere  else  in  the  ancient 
world.  Indeed,  the  Egyptian  went  still  further,  for  he  finally 
possessed  a  series  of  signs,  each  representing  only  07ie  letter, 
that  is,  alphabetic  signs,  or,  as  we  say,  real  letters.  There  were 
twenty-four  letters  in  this  alphabet,  which  was  known  in  Egypt 
long  before  3000  B.C.    It  was  thus  the  earliest  alphabet  known. 

The  inconvenience  of  scratching  this  writing  on  mud  walls, 
pieces  of  bone,  or  broken  pottery  soon  led  the  Egyptian  to  a 
more  practical  equipment  for  writing.  He  found  out  that  he 
could  make  an  excellent  paint  or  ink  by  thickening  water  with 
a  little  vegetable  gum,  and  then  mixing  in  a  little  soot  from 
the  blackened  pots  over  his  fire.  Dipping  a  pointed  reed  into 
this  mixture  he  found  he  could  write  very  well.  He  had  also 
learned  that  he  could  split  a  kind  of  river  reed,  called  papyrus^ 
into  thin  strips,  and  that  when  these  were  dried  he  could  write 
on  them  much  better  than  on  the  bits  of  pottery,  bone,  and 
wood  which  he  had  thus  far  used.  Desiring  a  larger  sheet 
on  which  to  write,  the  Egyptian  hit  upon  the  idea  of  pasting  his 
papyrus  strips  together  with  overlapping  edges.  This  gave  him 
a  thin  sheet.  Then  by  pasting  two  such  sheets  together,  back 
to  back  with  the  grain  crossing  at  right  angles,  he  produced  a 
smooth,  tough,  pale  yellow  paper.  The  Egyptian  had  thus  made 
the  discovery  that  a  thin  vegetable  membrane  offers  the  most 
practical  surface  on  which  to  write,  and  the  world  has  since  dis- 
covered nothing  better.    In  this  way  arose  pen,  ink,  and  paper 

1  See  the  word  "  beauty,"  the  last  three  signs  in  the  inscription  over  the  ship 
(Fig.  14). 


The  Story  of  Egypt  23 

(see  Fig.  16).  All  three  of  these  devices  have  descended  to 
us  from  the  Egyptians,  and  paper  still  bears  its  ancient  name, 
■"  papyros,"  ^  but  slightly  changed. 

The  invention  of  writing  and  of  a  convenient  system  of  rec- 
ords on  paper  has  had  a  greater  influence  in  uplifting  the  human 
race  than  any  other  intellectual  achievement  in  the  career  of  man. 
It  was  more  important  than  all  the  battles  ever  fought  and  all 
the  constitutions  ever  devised.  As  a  result  of  it  the  early  Egyp- 
tian peasants,  now  lying  in  the  thickly  clustered  graves  on  the 
margin  of  the  desert,  went  rapidly  forward  to  new  achievements 
in  civilization. 

They  had  early  found  it  necessary  to  measure  time,  for  the  Beginnings 
peasant  needed  to  know  when  he  ought  to  go  into  the  town  for 
the  next  religious  feast,  or  how  many  days  still  remained  before 
he  must  pay  his  neighbor  the  grain  he  borrowed  last  year.  Like 
all  other  early  peoples  he  found  the  time  from  new  moon  to 
new  moon  a  very  convenient  rough  measure.  If  he  agreed  to 
pay  the  grain  he  borrowed  in  nine  moons  and  eight  of  them 
had  passed,  he  knew  that  he  had  one  more  moon  in  which  to 
make  "the  payment.  But  the  moon-month  varies  in  length  from 
twenty-nine  to  thirty  days,  and  it  does  not  evenly  divide  the 
year.  The  Egyptian  scribe  early  discovered  this  inconvenience, 
and  soon  showed  himself  much  more  practical  in  this  respect 
than  his  neighbors  in  other  lands. 

He  decided  to  use  the  moon  no  longer  for  dividing  his  year.    Egyptian 
He  would  have  twelve  months  and  he  would  make  his  months  our  calendar, 
all  of  th^  same  length,  that  is,  thirty  days  each;  then  he  would   ^^^^  ^•^■ 
celebrate  five  feast  days,  a  kind  of  holiday  week  five  days  long, 
at  the  end  of  the  year.    This  gave  him  a  year  of  365  days.   He 
was  not  yet  enough  of  an  astronomer  to  know  that  every  four 
years  he  ought  to  have  a  leap  year,  of  366  days,  although  he 

1  The  change  from  "  papyros  "  to  "  paper  "  is  really  a  very  slight  one.  For 
OS  is  merely  the  Greek  grammatical  ending,  which  must  be  omitted  in  English. 
This  leaves  us  papyr  as  the  ancestor  of  our  word  "  paper,"  from  which  it  differs 
by  only  one  letter.  On  the  other  Greek  word  for  "  papyrus,"  from  which  came 
our  word  "  Bible,"  see  page  140, 


24  Outlines  of  European  History 

discovered  this  fact  later  (p.  236).  This  convenient  Egyptian 
calendar  was  devised  in  4241  B.C.,  and  its  introduction  is  the 
earliest-dated  event  in  history.  Furthermore,  it  is  the  very  calen- 
dar which  has  descended  to  us,  after  more  than  six  thousand 
years  —  unfortunately  with  awkward  alterations  in  the  lengths 
of  the  months ;  but  for  these  alterations  the  Egyptians  were 
not  responsible  (see  p.  268). 
Discovery  of  It  was  probably  in  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai  (see  map,  p.  56) 
^oo?Bx*)^^^^  that  some  Egyptian  wandering  thither,  once  banked  his  camp 
fire  with  pieces  of  copper  ore  lying  on  the  ground  about  the 
camp.  The  charcoal  of  his  wood  fire  mingled  with  the  hot 
fragments  of  ore  piled  around  to-  shield  the  fire,  and  thus  the 
ore  was  "  reduced  "  as  the  miner  says  ;  that  is,  the  copper  in  me- 
tallic form  was  released  from  the  dark  recesses  of  the  lumps  of 
ore.  Next  morning  as  the  Egyptian  stirs  the  embers,  he  discovers 
a  few  glittering  globules,  now  hardened  into  beads  of  metal.  He 
draws  them  forth  and  turns  them  admiringly  as  they  glitter  in 
the  morning  sunshine.  Before  long,  as  the  experience  is  repeated, 
he  discovers  whence  these  strange  shining  beads  have  come. 
He  produces  more  of  them,  at  first  only  to  be  worn  as  ornaments 
by  his  women,  then  to  be  cast  into  a  blade  and  to  replace  the 
flint  knife  which  he  carries  in  his  girdle. 
The  dawning  Without  knowing  it  this  man  stands  at  the  dawning  of  a  new 
\\l\l\ '  ^^  °  era,  the  Age  of  Metal ;  and  the  little  disk  of  shining  copper 
which  he  draws  from  the  ashes,  if  this  Egyptian  wanderer  could 
but^see  it,  might  reflect  to  him  a  vision  of  steel  buildings,  Brook- 
lyn bridges,  huge  factories  roaring  with  the  noise  of  thousands 
of  machines  of  metal,  and  vast  stretches  of  steel  roads  along 
which  thunder  hosts  of  rushing  locomotives.  For  these  things 
of  our  modern  world,  and  all  they  signify,  would  never  have 
come  to  pass  but  for  the  little  bead  of  metal  which  the  Egyptian 
held  in  his  hand  for  the  first  time  on  that  eventful  day  so  long 
ago.  Since  the  discovery  of  fire  over  fifty  thousand  years 
earlier  (p.  3)  man  had  made  no  conquest  of  the  things  of  the 
earth  which  could  compare  with  this  in  importance. 


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26  Outlines  of  European  History 

The  Nile  a  At  this  point  vve  realize  that  we  have  folbwed  early  man  out 

volime*°"''^^  of  the  Stone  Age  (where  we  left  him  in  Europe)  into  a  civili- 
zation possessed  of  metal,  writing,  and  government.  We  begin 
to  see  that  diy  and  rainless  Egypt  furnishes  the  conditions  for 
the  preservation  of  such  plentiful  remains  of  early  man  as  to 
make  this  valley  an  enormous  storehouse  of  his  ancient  works 
and  records.  These  are  the  only  link  connecting  prehistoric  man 
with  the  historic  age  of  written  documents,  which  we  are  now 
to  study,  as  we  make  the  voyage  up  the  Nile  and  learn  to  read 
the  monuments  along  the  great  river  like  a  vast  historical  vol- 
ume, whose  pages  will  tell  us  age  after  age  the  fascinating  story 
of  ancient  man  and  all  that  he  achieved  here  so  many  thousands 
of  years  ago.  The  wonderful  achievements  of  the  earliest  Egyp- 
tians we  have  recalled  as  we  journeyed  across  the  Delta ;  but 
now  as  the  journey  up  the  river  proceeds  we  shall  be  able  to 
watch  the  continuous  progress  of  the  Egyptian  In  the  long 
centuries  after  his  discovery  of  metals  and  writings 
The  first  Such  are  the  thoughts  which  occupy  the  mind  of  the  well- 

fhe"^pyramids  informed  traveler  as  his  train  carries  him  southward  across  the 
Delta,  Perhaps  he  is  pondering  on  the  possible  results  which 
the  Egyptians  would  achieve  as  he  sees  them  in  imagination 
throwing  away  their  flint  chisels  and  replacing  them  with  those 
of  copper.  The  train  rounds  a  bend,  and  through  an  opening  in 
the  palms  the  traveler  is  fairly  blinded  by  a  burst  of  blazing 
sunshine  from  the  western  desert,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  dis- 
covers a  group  of  noble  pyramids  rising  above  the  glare  of  the 
sands.  It  is  his  first  glimpse  of  the  great  pyramids  of  Gizeh, 
and  it  tells  him  better  than  any  printed  page  what  the  Egyptian 
builder  with  the  copper  chisel  in  his  hand  could  do.  A  few 
minutes  later  his  train  is  moving  among  the  modern  buildings 
of  Cairo,  and  the  very  next  day  will  surely  find  him  taking  the 
seven-mile  drive  from  Cairo  out  to  Gizeh. 


The  Story  of  Egypt  2  J 

Section  7.    The  Pyramid  Age^ 

No  traveler  ever  forgets  the  first  drive  to  the  Pyramids  of  The  pyramids 
Gizeh,  as  he  sees  their  giant  forms  rising  higher  and  higher  tombr 
above  the  crest  of  the  western  d^esert  (Plate  I).  A  thou- 
sand questions  arise  in  the  visitor's  mind.  He  has  read  that 
these  vast  buildings  he  is  approaching  are  tombs,  in  which  the 
kings  of  Egypt  were  buried.  Such  mighty  buildings  reveal 
many  things  about  the  men  who  built  them.  In  the  first  place, 
these  tombs  show  that  the  Egyptians  believed  in  a  life  after 
death  and  that  to  obtain  such  life  it  was  necessary  to  preserve 
the  body  from  destruction.  They  built  these  tombs  to  shelter 
and  protect  the  body  after  death.  Hence,  also,  came  the  prac- 
tice of  "  embalmment "  by  which  the  body  was  preserved  as  a 
mummy  (Fig.  32).  It  was  then  placed  in  the  great  tomb,  in 
a  small  but  massive  room  deep  in  the  heart  of  the  pyramid 
masonry.  Other  tombs  of  masonry,  much  smaller  in  size, 
cluster  about  the  pyramids  in  great  numbers  (Frontispiece). 
Here  were  buried  the  relatives  of  the  king,  and  the  great  men 
of  his  court,  who  assisted  him  in  the  government  of  the  land 

(Fig.  15)- 

These  people  had  many  gods,  but  there  were  two  whom  they  The  gods  of 
worshiped  above  all  others.  The  Sun,  which  shines  so  gloriously  and^Osiris^ 
in  the  cloudless  Egyptian  sky,  was  their  greatest  god,  and  their 
most  splendid  temples  were  erected  for  his  worship.  Indeed, 
the  pyramid  is  a  symbol  sacred  to  the  Sun-god.  They  called 
him  Re  (pron.  raj).  The  other  great  power  which  they  revered 
as  a  god  was  likewise  a  visible  force  in  their  daily  lives.  The 
shining  Nile  which  the  traveler  has  just  crossed  on  his  way  to 
the  pyramids  gives  life  to  the  fields  and  brings  forth  the  har- 
vest. So  the  Nile,  and  the  fertile  soil  he  refreshes,  and  the  green 
life  which  he  brings  forth  —  all  these  the  Egyptian  thought  of 
together  as  a  single  god,  Osiris,  the  imperishable  life  of  the  earth 
which  revives  and  fades  every  year  with  the  changes  of  the 
seasons.    It  was  a  beautiful  thought  to  the  Egyptian  that  this 


28 


Outlines  of  Europeaji  History 


The  progress 
of  the  Egyp- 
tians before 
they  built 
stone 
masonry 


From  the 
earliest  stone 
masonry  to 
the  Great 
Pyramid  —  a 
century  and 
a  half 


same  life-giving  power  which  furnished  him  his  food  in  this  world 
would  care  for  him  also  in  the  next^  when  his  body  lay  out  yonder 
in  the  great  cemetery  which  we  are  approaching. 

But  this  vast  cemetery  of  Gizeh  tells  us  of  many  other  things 
besides  the  religion  of  tl^e  Egyptians.  As  we  look  up  at  the 
colossal  pyramid  of  Khufu  (Cheops)  we  can  hardly  grasp  the 
fact  of  the  enormous  stride  forward  which  the  Egyptians  have 
taken  since  the  days  when  they  used  to  be  buried  with  their  flint 
knives  in  a  pit  scooped  out  on  the  margin  of  the  desert  (Fig.  1 1). 
It  is  the  use  of  metal  which  has  since  then  carried  them  so  far. 
That  Egyptian  in  Sinai  who  noticed  the  first  bit  of  metal  (p.  24) 
lived  over  a  thousand  years  before  these  pyramids  were  built. 
He  was  buried  in  a  pit  like  that  of  the  earliest  Egyptian  peasant 
(Fig.  11). 

It  was  a  long  time  before  his  discovery  of  metal  resulted  in 
copper  tools  which  made  possible  great  architecture  in  stone. 
Not  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  the  Great  Pyra- 
mid of  Gizeh,  the  Egyptians  were  still  building  the  tombs  of 
their  kings  of  sun-baked  brick.  Such  a  royal  tomb  was  merely  a 
chamber  in  the  ground,  roofed  with  wood  (Fig.  13,  7). 

Then  some  skillful  workman  among  them  found  out  that  he 
could  use  his  copper  tools  to  cut  square  blocks  of  limestone  and 
line  the  chamber  with  these  blocks  in  place  of  the  soft  bricks. 
This  was  the  first  piece  of  stone  masonry  ever  put  together  in 
so  fair  as  we  know  (Fig.  13,  2).  It  was  built  not  long  before 
3000  B.C.,  and  less  than  a  century  and  a  half  later,  that  is,  by 
2900  B.C.,  the  king's  architect  was  building  the  Great  Pyramid 
of  Gizeh  (Fig.  13,  6).  What  a  contrast  between  the  sun- 
baked brick  chamber  and  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Gizeh  only  a 
century  and  a  half  later!  Most  of  this  progress  was  made 
during  the  thirtieth  century  B.C. ;  that  is,  between  3000  and 
2900  B.C.  (Fig.  13).  Such  rapid  progress  in  control  of  mechani- 
cal power  can  be  found  in  no  other  period  of  the  world's  history 
until  the  nineteenth  century,  which  closed  not  long  before  many 
of  the  readers  of  this  book  were  born. 


The  Story  of  Egypt  29 

It  helps  us  to  grasp  the  extent  of  the  Egyptian's  progress  The  vast  size 
when  we  know  that  the  Great  Pyramid  covers  thirteen  acres.  Pyramid'^^^^ 
It  is  a  solid  mass  of  masonry  containing  2,300,000  blocks  of 
limestone,  each  weighing  on  an  average  two  and  a  half  tons ; 
that  is,  each  block  is  as  heavy  as  an  ordinary  wagon  load  of  coal. 
The  sides  of  the  pyramid  at  the  base  are  755  feet  long ;  that  is, 
about  a  block  and  three  quarters  (counting  twelve  city  blocks 
to  a  mile),  and  the  building  was  nearly  five  hundred  feet  high. 
An  ancient  story  tells  us  that  a  hundred  thousand  men  were 
working  on  this  royal  tomb  for  twenty  years,  and  we  can  well 
believe  it  (see  Plate  I). 

We  can  also  learn  much  about  the  progress  of  the  Egyptian  Government 
in  government  from  this  cemetery  of  Gizeh.  We  perceive  at  midAge^"^^ 
once  that  it  must  have  required  a  very  skillful  ruler  and  a  great 
body  of  officials  to  manage  and  to  feed  a  hundred  thousand 
workmen  around  this  great  building.  The  king  who  controlled 
such  vast  undertakings  was  no  longer  a  local  chieftain  (p.  20), 
but  he  now  ruled  all  Egypt.  He  was  so  reverenced  that  the 
people  did  not  mention  the  king  by  name,  but  instead  they 
spoke  of  the  palace  in  which  he  lived ;  that  is,  the  "  Great 
House,"  or,  in  Egyptian,  "  Pharaoh."  ^  He  had  his  local  officials 
collecting  taxes  all  over  Egypt.  They  were  also  trying  cases  at 
law  wherever  they  arose,  and  every  judge  had  before  him  the 
written  law  which  bade  him  judge  justly.  A  large  office  with  its 
corps  of  officials  was  also  keeping  the  irrigation  canals  (Fig.  i  o) 
in  order. 

The  king's  huge  central  offices  occupying  low  sun-baked  brick  The  treasury 
buildings  sheltered  an  army  of  clerks  with  their  reed  pens  and 
their  rolls  of  papyrus  (p.  22),  keeping  the  king's  records  and 
accounts.  The  tax  payments  received  from  the  people  here 
were  not  in  money,  for  coined  money  did  not  yet  exist.  Such 
payments  were  made  in  produce :  grain,  livestock,  wine,  honey, 
linen,  and  the  like.  With  the  exception  of  the  cattle,  these  had 
to  be  stored  in  granaries  and  storehouses,  a  vast  group  of  which 

1  This  word  is  a  title,  not  the  name  of  any  particular  king. 


and  the  royal 
city 


30 


Outlines  of  European  History 


formed  the  treasury  of  the  king.  The  villas  (Fig.  21)  of  the 
officials  who  assisted  the  king  in  all  this  business  of  government, 
with  their  gardens,  formed  a  large  part  of  the  royal  city^ 

The  greatest  quarter,  however,  was  occupied  by  the  palace  of 
the  king  and  the  luxurious  parks  and  gardens  which  surrounded 
it.  Thus  the  palace  and  its  grounds,  the  official  villas,  and  offices 
of  the  government  made  up  the  capital  of  Egypt,  the  royal  city 
which  extended  along  the  foot  of  the  pyramid  cemetery  and 


Fig.  14.  Earliest  Represextatiox  of  a  Seagoing  Ship 
(Twenty-eighth  Century  b.c.) 

The  people  are  all  bowing  to  the  king  whose  figure  (now  lost)  stood  on 
shore  (at  the  left),  and  they  salute  him  with  the  words  written  in  a  line 
of  hieroglyphs  above,  meaning :  "  Hail  to  thee !  O  Sahure  [the  king's 
name],  thou  god  of  the  living !  We  behold  thy  beauty.  "  Some  of  these 
men  are  bearded  Phoenician  prisoners,  showing  that  this  Egyptian  ship 
has  crossed  the  east  end  of  the  Mediterranean  and  returned.  The  big 
double  mast  is  unshipped  and  lies  on  supports  rising  by  the  three 
steering  oars  in  the  stern  ^ 

Stretched  far  away  over  the  plain,  of  which  there  is  a  fine  view 
from  the  summit  of  the  pyramid  (Fig.  10).  But  the  city  was  all 
built  of  sun-baked  brick  and  wood,  and  it  has  therefore  vanished. 
Length  and  The  city  of  the  dead,  the  pyramids  and  the  tombs  clustering 
Pyramid  Age  around  them,  being  built  of  stone,  have  fortunately  proved  more 
durable  and  they  have  much  to  tell  us  still.  The  weary  climb  to 
the  summit  of  the  Great  Pyramid  (Fig.  i  o)  gives  us  a  view  south- 
ward, down  a  straggling  but  imposing  line  of  pyramids  rising 
dimly  as  far  as  we  can  see  on  the  southern  horizon.  The  line 
is  over  sixty  miles  long,  and  its  oldest  p}Tamids  represent  the 


The  Story  of  Egypt 


31 


first  great  age  of  Egyptian  civilization  after  the  land  was  united 
under  one  king.^  We  may  call  it  the  Pyramid  Age  and  it  lasted 
about  five  hundred  years,  from  3000  to  2500  B.C.  It  was  an 
age  of  great  prosperity  and  splendour  Otherwise  it  would  have 
been  impossible  to  erect  buildings  of  such  grandeur  as  these  in 
the  Gizeh  cemetery. 

In  the  Pyramid  Age  the  Pharaoh  was  powerful  enough  to  seek 
wealth  beyond  the  boundaries  of  Egypt.   A  few  surviving  blocks 


Fig.  15.   Restoration  of  a  Group  of  Tombs  of  the  Nobles 
IN  THE  Pyramid  Age 

These  tombs  are  grouped  about  the  royal  pyramids,  as  seen  in 
Plate  I.  They  are  sometimes  of  vast  size.  The  square  openings  in 
the  top  are  shafts  leading  down  to  the  burial  chambers  in  the  native 
rock  far  below  the  tomb  structures.  These  structures  are  solid  except 
for  a  chapel  in  the  east  side,  of  which  the  door  can  be  seen  in  the 
front  of  each  tomb.  The  reliefs  in  Figs.  16-20  adorn  the  inside 
walls  of  these  chapels 

from  a  fallen  pyramid-temple  (Fig.  22)  south  of  Gizeh  bear  carved  Northern 

and  painted  reliefs  (Fig.  1 4)  showing  us  the  ships  which  he  dared  a^d  earliest 

to  send  beyond  the  shelter  of  the  Nile  mouths  far  across  the  end  Ss '"^ 
of  the  Mediterranean  to  the  coast  of  Phoenicia  (see  map,  p.  56). 
This  was  in  the  middle  of  the  twenty-eighth  century  B.C.,  and 

1  Before  this,  little  kingdoms  scattered  up  and  down  the  valley  had  long  existed 
but  were  finally  united  into  one  kingdom,  under  a  single  king.  The  first  king  to 
establish  this  union  permanently  was  Menes,  who  united  Egypt  under  his  rule 
about  3400  B.C.  But  it  was  four  centuries  or  more  after  Menes  that  the  united 
kingdom  became  powerful  and  wealthy  enough  to  build  these  royal  pyramid- 
tombs,  marking  for  us  the  fiirst  great  age  of  Egyptian  civilization. 


32 


Outlines  of  European  History 


this  relief  (Fig.  14)  contains  the  oldest-l^nown  representation  of 
a  seagoing  ship.  Yet  the  Pharaoh  had  already  been  carrying  on 
such  over-sea  commerce  for  centuries  at  this  time,  and  an  ancient 
record  tells  us  that  he  sent  forty  ships  to  Phoenicia  to  bring  back 
cedar  of  Lebanon  in  the  middle  of  the  thirtieth  century  B.C., 

two  centuries  before 
our  earliest  picture 
of  such  an  ancient 
salt-water  vessel. 
These  are  the  ships 
which  carried  metal 
and  other  products 
of  civilization  to  the 
peoples  who  lived  on 
the  Mediterranean 
shores  of  Europe  in 
the  Late  Stone  Age 
(p.  14). 

The  king  was 
also  already  sending 
caravans  of  donkeys 
far  up  the  Nile  into 
the  Sudan  to  traffic 
with  the  blacks  of 
the  south,  and  to 
bring  back  ebony, 
ivory,  ostrich  feath- 
ers, and  fragrant 
gums.  The  officials  who  conducted  these  caravans  were  the 
earliest  explorers  of  inner  Africa,  and  in  their  tombs  at  the  First 
Cataract  they  have  left  interesting  records  of  their  exciting  ad- 
ventures among  the  wild  tribes  of  the  south  —  adventures  in 
which  some  of  them  lost  their  lives.^    Expeditions  to  the  south 

1  The  teacher  will  find  it  of  interest  to  read  these  records  to  the  class.    See 
Breasted's  Ancient  Records  of  Egypt ^  Vol.  I,  pp.  325-336,  350-374. 


Fig.  16.  Relief  Scene  from  the  Chapel 

OF   A   Noble's   Tomb   (Fig.  15)  in   the 

Pyramid  Age 

The  tall  figure  of  the  noble  stands  at  the  right. 
A  piece  has  fallen  out  of  the  wall,  carrying 
away  part  of  his  face  and  figure.  He  is  in- 
specting three  rows  of  cattle  and  a  row  of  fowl 
brought  before  him.  Note  the  two  scribes  who 
head  the  two  middle  rows.  Each  is  writing 
with  pen  on  a  sheet  of  papyrus,  and  one  car- 
ries two  pens  behind  his  ear.  Such  reliefs 
after  being  carved  were  colored  in  bright  hues 
by  the  painter  (see  p.  33) 


The  Story  of  Egypt 


33 


end  of  the  Red  Sea  to  procure  the  same  products  early  led  to 
the  excavation  of  a  canal  connecting  the  easternmost  Nile  branch 
in  the  Delta  with  the  Red  Sea.  This  predecessor  of  the  Suez 
Canal  was  dug  about  4000  years  ago. 

A  stroll  among  the  tombs  clustering  so  thickly  around  the   The  tomb- 
pyramids  of  Gizeh  is  almost  like  a  walk  among  the  busy  com-  the^yramid 
munities  which  flourished  in  this  populous  valley  in  the  days  of  i^fl^^'j^g*^^ 
the  pyramid  builders.   We  find  the  door  of  every  tomb  standing  reveal 
open  (Fig.  15),  and  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  our  entrance.  We 
stand  in  an  oblong  room  with  walls  of  stone  masonry.   This  is  a 


Fig.  17.   Plowing  and  Sowing  in  the  Pyramid  Age 

There  are  two  plowmen,  one  driving  the  oxen  and  one  holding  the 
plow.  The  man  with  the  curious  hoe  breaks  up  the  clods  left  by  the 
plow,  and  in  front  of  him  is  the  sower,  scattering  the  seed  from 
the  sack  he  carries  before  him.  At  the  left  is  a  scribe  of  the  estate. 
The  hieroglyphs  above  in  all  such  scenes  explain  what  is  going  on. 
Scene  from  the  chapel  of  a  noble's  tomb  (Fig.  15) 


chapel-chamber  to  which  the  Egyptian  believed  the  dead  man 
buried  beneath  the  tomb  might  return  every  day.  Here  he 
would  find  food  and  drink  left  for  him  daily  by  his  relatives.  He 
would  also  find  the  stone  walls  of  this  room  covered  from  floor 
to  ceiling  with  carved  scenes,  beautifully  painted,  picturing  the 
daily  life  on  the  great  estate  of  which  he  was  lord  (Figs.  16-20). 
The  place  is  now  silent  and  deserted,  or  if  we  hear  the  voices 
of  the  donkey  boys  talking  outside,  they  are  speaking  Arabic ; 
for  the  ancient  language  of  the  men  who  built  these  tombs 
so  many  thousand  years  ago  is  no  longer  spoken.  But  every- 
where,  in  bright  and  charming  colors,  we  see  looking  down 


34 


Outlines  of  Europe ati  Histor)' 


Agriculture 
and  cattle- 
raising  ; 
beasts  of 
burden 


The  copper- 
smith and  the 
appearance 
of  bronze 


l^f^*®:  '-^.<l 


Fig.  1 8. 


Peasant  milking  in  the 
Pyramid  Age 


upon  us  from  these  walls  the  life  which  these  men  of  nearly  five 
thousand  years  ago  actually  lived. 

Dominating  all  these  scenes  on  the  walls  is  the  tall  form  of 
the  noble  (Fig.  i6\  the  lord  of  the  estate,  as  he  stands  looking 
out  over  his  fields  and  inspecting  the  work  going  on  there. 
These  fields  where  the  oxen  draw  the  plow,  and  the  sowers  scatter 
the  seed  (Fig.  17),  are  the  oldest  scene  of  agriculture  knowTi  to 
us.  Here  too  are  the  herds,  long  lines  of  sleek  fat  cattle  grazing 
in  the  pasture,  while  the  milch  cows  are  led  up  and  tied  to  be 
milked  (Figs.  16,  18).    These  cattle  are  also  beasts  of  burden; 

. we    have    noticed    the 

oxen  drawing  the  plow. 
But  we  find  no  horses 
in  these  tombs  of  the 
Pyramid  Age,  for  the 
horse  was  then  un- 
known to  the  Eg\'ptian, 
but  the  donkey  is  every- 
where, and  it  would  be 
impossible  to  harvest 
the  grain  without  him 
(Fig.  19). 

On  the  next  wall  we  find  again  the  tall  figure  of  the  noble 
overseeing  the  booths  and  yards  where  toil  the  craftsmen  of  his 
estate.  We  can  almost  hear  the  sounds  of  hammer  and  anvil 
and  the  hum  of  industrv^  as  we  look  here  upon  these  artisans  of 
the  early  oriental  world  at  their  busy  tasks.  Yonder  is  the  smith. 
He  has  never  heard  of  his  ancestor  who  picked  up  the  first  bead 
of  copper  probably  over  a  thousand  years  earlier  (p.  24).  This 
man  has  made  progress  how^ever.  He  is  now  able  to  harden  his 
tools  by  the  addition  of  a  small  amount  of  tin  to  the  molten 
metal,  which  then  cools  into  a  much  harder  state  than  that  of 
pure  copper.    We  call  this  mixture  bronze.^   This  harder  metal 

1  The  origin  of  bronze  is  probably  natural.  Professor  J.  L.  Myres  of  Oxford 
informs  me  of  the  recent  discovery  of  ore  containing  both  copper  and  tin  in  the 
northern  Mediterranean.   The  metal  yielded  by  such  ore  would  itself  be  bronze. 


The  cow  is  restive  and  the  ancient  cow- 
herd has  tied  her  hind  legs.  Behind  her 
another  man  is  holding  her  calf,  which 
rears  and  plunges  in  the  effort  to  reach 
the  milk.  Scene  from  the  chapel  of  a 
noble's  tomb  (Fig.  15) 


The  Story  of  Egypt 


11 


here  in  the  Age  of  Copper  gives  the  workman  the  same  advan- 
tage obtained  in  the  Age  of  Iron  by  the  invention  of  steel. 

On  the  same  wall  we  see  the  lapidarv'  holding  up  for  the  noble's  The  lapidan-, 
admiration  splendid  stone  bowls,  cut  from  diorite,  a  stone  as  fnd  jeweler 
hard  as  steel.  Nevertheless  the  bowl  is  ground  to  such  thinness 
that  the  sunlight  glows  through  its  dark  gray  sides.  Other  work- 
men are  cutting  and  grinding  tiny  pieces  of  beautiful  blue  tur- 
quoise. These  pieces  they  inlay  with  remarkable  accuracy  into 
recesses  in  the  surface  of  a  magnificent  golden  vase,  just  made 
ready  by  the  goldsmith.  The  booth  of  the  goldsmith  is  filled  with 
workmen  and  apprentices, 
weighing  gold  and  costly 
stones,  hammering  and  cast- 
ing, soldering  and  fitting  to- 
gether richly  wrought  jewelry^  ^ 
which  can  hardly  be  surpassed 
by  the  best  goldsmiths  and 
jewelers  of  to-day. 

In  the  next  space  on  this 
wall   we    find   the   potter    no 
longer  building  up  his  jars  and 
bowls  with  his  fingers  alone, 
as  in  the  Stone  Age.   He  now 
sits  before  a  small  horizontal 
wheel,   which  he  keeps   whirling   with   one  hand.     Upon   this 
potter's  wheel,  the  ancestor  of  the  lathe,  he  deftly  shapes  the 
vessel  as  it  whirls  round  and  round  under  his  fingers.    \Mien  The  potter's 
the  soft  clay  vessels  are  ready,  they  are  no  longer  unevenly  fl^mace^the 
burned  in  an  open  fire,  as  the  Late  Stone  Age  potter  in  the   earhest  glass 
Swiss  lake-villages  managed  it  (Fig.  7) ;  but  here  in  the  Egyp- 
tian potter's  yard  are  long  rows  of  closed  furnaces  of  clay  as 


Fig.  19.    Donkey   carryixg   a 

Load   of    Grain    Sheaves    in 

THE  Pyramid  Age 

The  foal  accompanies  its  mother 
while  at  work.  Scene  from  the 
chapel  of  a  noble's  tomb  (Fig.  15) 


1  Among  the  marvelous  works  of  the  ancient  Eg>-ptian  goldsmith  one  of  the 
best  pieces  now  sur\iving  is  a  beautiful  golden  tiara  in  the  form  of  a  chaplet  of 
flowers,  found  on  the  brow  of  an  Eg}-ptian  princess  just  as  it  was  put  there  in 
the  Feudal  Age  nearly  four  thousand  years  ago.  It  may  be  seen  drawn  as  rest- 
ing on  a  cushion  at  the  end  of  Chapter  II  (p.  55). 


36 


Outlines  of  European  History 


tall  as  a  man,  where  the  pottery  is  packed  in,  protected  from 
the  wind  and  evenly  burned.  These  two  inventions,  the  potter's 
wheel  and  the  potter's  furnace,  were  carried  over  to  Stone  Age 
Europe  like  many  other  contributions  from  the  Orient.  Indeed, 
we  discover  in  the  next  booth  also  the  source  of  those  bright 
blue-glazed  beads  ^  which  found  their  way  from  Egypt  to  far- 
off  England  in  the  Late  Stone  or  early  Bronze  Age  (p.  14). 
This  is  the  earliest-known  glass.  The  Egyptians  were  making 
it  for  centuries  before  the  Pyramid  Age.    It  was  spread  on  tiles 


The  weavers 
and  tapestry- 
makers 


Fig.  20.   Cabinetmakers  in  the  Pyramid  Age 

At  the  left,  a  man  is  cutting  with  a  chisel  which  he  taps  with  a  nfiallet ; 
next,  a  man  "  rips  "  a  board  with  a  copper  saw ;  next,  two  men  are  finish- 
ing off  a  couch,  and  at  the  right  a  man  is  drilling  a  hole  with  a  bow-drill. 
Scene  from  the  chapel  of  a  noble's  tomb  (Fig.  15).  Compare  a  finished 
chair  belonging  to  a  wealthy  noble  of  the  Empire  (Fig.  33) 

in  gorgeous  glazes  for  adorning  house  and  palace  walls,  or 
wrought  into  exquisite  many-colored  glass  bottles  and  vases, 
which  were  widely  exported  (Fig.  48). 

Yonder  the  weaving  women  draw  forth  from  the  loom  a  gos- 
samer fabric  of  linen.  The  picture  on  this  wall  could  not  tell  us 
of  its  fineness,  but  fortunately  pieces  of  it  have  survived,  wrapped 
around  the  mummy  of  a  king  of  this  age.  These  specimens  of 
royal  linen  are  so  fine  that  it  requires  a  magnifying  glass  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  silk,  and  the  best  work  of  the  modern  machine 
loom  is  coarse  in  comparison  with  this  fabric  of  the  ancient 

1  The  tailpiece  of  Chapter  I  (p.  i6)  shows  blue-  and  green-glazed  Egyptian 
beads  found  in  prehistoric  graves  of  England.    Compare  page  14. 


The  Story  of  Egypt  37 

Egyptian  hand  loom.  At  one  loom  there  issues  a  lovely  tapestry, 
for  these  weavers  of  Egypt  furnished  the  earliest-known  speci- 
mens of  such  work,  to  be  hung  on  the  walls  of  the  Pharaoh's 
palace  or  stretched  to  shade  the  roof  garden  of  the  noble's  villa. 

Into  the  back  door  of  the  next  booth  pass  huge  bundles  of  Paper- 
papyrus  reeds,  which  we  see  barelegged  men  gathering  along  "^^  ^"^^ 
the  edge  of  the  Nile  marsh.  These  reeds  furnish  piles  of  pale 
yellow  paper  in  long  sheets  (p.  22).  The  ships  which  we  have 
followed  on  the  Mediterranean  (p.  31)  will  yet  add  bales  of  this 
Nile  paper  to  their  cargoes,  and  carry  it  to  the  European  world. 
For  fifteen  hundred  years  these  papyrus  booths  along  the  Nile 
were  the  world's  paper  mills,  until  the  libraries  of  wealthy  Greeks 
and  Romans  (p.  1 40)  were  filled  with  papyrus  books.  Thus  these 
papyrus  marshes  of  the  Nile  were  exhausted  and  the  papyrus 
plant  at  last  became  extinct  in  Egypt.  The  modern  traveler 
looks  for  it  in  vain  as  he  journeys  up  the  river. 

We  can  easily  imagine  the  hubbub  of  hammers  and  mauls  as  shipbuilders, 
we  approach  the  next  section  of  wall,  where  we  find  the  ship-  anTcabSet- 
builders  and  cabinetmakers.  Here  is  a  long  line  of  curving  hulls,  makers 
with  workmen  swarming  over  them  like  ants,  fitting  together 
the  earliest  seagoing  ships  (Fig.  14).  Beside  them  are  the  busy 
cabinetmakers,  fashioning  luxurious  furniture  for  the  noble's 
villa.  The  finished  chairs  and  couches  for  the  king  or  the  rich 
are  overlaid  with  gold  and  silver,  inlaid  with  ebony  and  ivory, 
and  upholstered  with  soft  leathern  cushions  (Figs.  20,  2ii)-  As 
we  look  back  over  these  painted  chapel  walls,  we  see  that  the 
tombs  of  Gizeh  have  told  us  a  very  vivid  story  of  how  early  men 
learned  to  make  for  themselves  all  the  most  important  things 
they  needed.  We  should  notice  how  many  more  such  things 
these  men  of  the  Nile  could  now  make  than  the  Stone  Age  men, 
who  were  living  in  the  lake-villages  of  Europe  (Fig.  5)  at  the 
very  time  these  tomb-chapels  were  built. 

It  is  easy  to  picture  the  bright  sunny  river  in  those  ancient 
days,  alive  with  boats  and  barges  moving  hither  and  thither, 
and  often  depicted  on  these  walls,  bearing  the  products  of  all 


38  Outlines  of  European  His  tor}' 

River  com-  these  industries,  to  be  carried  to  the  treasury  of  the  Pharaoh  as 
marketplace-  taxes  or  to  the  market  of  the  town  for  traffic.  Here  on  the  wall 
traffic  in  jg  the  market  place  itself.  We  can  watch  the  cobbler  offering  the 

goods ;  cir-  ^  " 

cuiation  of  baker  a  pair  of  sandals  as  payment  for  a  cake,  or  the  carpenter's 
preaous  ^.^^  giving  the  fisherman  a  little  wooden  box  for  a  fish ;  while 

the  potter's  wife  proffers  the  apothecary  two  bowls  fresh  from 
the  potter's  furnace  in  exchange  for  a  jar  of  fragrant  ointment. 
We  see  therefore  that  the  people  have  no  coined  money  to  use, 
and  that  in  the  market  place  trade  is  actual  exchange  of  goods. 
Such  is  the  business  of  the  common  people.    If  we  could  see 
the  large  transactions  in  the  palace,  we  would  find  there  heavy 
rings  of  gold  of  a  recognized  weight,  which  circulated  like  money. 
Rings  of  copper  also  served  the  same  purpose.    Such  rings  were 
the  forerunners  of  coin  (p.  152). 
Three  classes       These  people  in  the  gayly  painted  market  place  on  the  chapel 
the^Pyramid     wall  are  the  common  folk  of  Egypt  in  the  Pyramid  Age.    Some 
^^^  of  them  were  free  men,  following  their  own  business  or  in- 

dustry. Others  were  slaves  working  the  fields  on  the  great 
estates  like  the  one  which  is  pictured  on  these  walls.  Over  both 
these  humbler  classes  were  the  great  officials  of  the  Pharaoh's 
government,  like  the  owner  of.  this  tomb  whose  tall  form 
(Fig.  16)  we  find  so  often  shown  upon  these  chapel  walls.  We 
know  many  more  of  them  by  name,  and  a  walk  through  this 
cemetery  would  enable  us  to  make  a  directory  of  the  wealthy 
quarter  of  the  royal  city  under  the  kings  who  were  buried  in 
these  pyramids  of  Gizeh.  It  would  be  a  kind  of  social  Blue 
Book  of  the  capital  of  Egypt  in  the  Pyramid  Age.  We  know 
the  grand  viziers  and  the  chief  treasurers,  the  chief  judges  and 
the  architects,  the  chamberlains  and  marshals  of  the  palace,  and 
so  on.  We  can  even  visit  the  tomb  of  the  architect  who  built 
the  Great  Pyramid  of  Gizeh  for  Khufu. 
The  noble  of  We  can  observe  with  what  vast  satisfaction  these  nobles  and 
Age  in^hS^  officials  presided  over  this  busy  industrial  and  social  life  of  the 
home  jvj-jg  y^lley  in  the  Pyramid  Age.    Here  on  this  chapel  wall  again 

we  see  its  owner  seated  at  ease  in  his  palanquin,  a  luxurious 


The  Ston'  of  Egypt 


39 


T;^f  .^^-"^  f"}^-^^!^. 


Fig.  21.  Villa  of  an  Egyptian  Noble 

The  garden  is  inclosed  with  a  high  wall.    There  are  pools  on  either 

side  as  one  enters,  and  a  long  arbor  extends  down  the  middle.    The 

house  at  the  rear,  embowered  in  trees,  is  crowned  by  a  roof  garden 

shaded  with  awnings  of  tapestry  (see  p.  37) 

wheel-less  carriage,  borne  upon  the  shoulders  of  slaves,  as  he 
returns  from  the  inspection  of  his  estate  where  we  have  been 
following  him.  As  he  is  carried  through  the  gate  of  his  garden 
he  retires  into  a  veritable  paradise  (Fig.  21).  The  slaves  set 
down  the  palanquin  in  the  shade  and  their  master  steps  out  to 


40 


Outlines  of  European  History 


recline  by  the  cool  waters  of  the  fishpool,  where  he  watches 
the  slow  and  stately  dances  of  his  women  or  the  pranks  of  his 
children  as  they  romp  about  the  pool.  The  villa  (Fig.  21)  which 
peeps  through  the  verdure  is  light  and  airy  and  gay  with  brightly 


Fig.  22.    Colonnades   in  the  Court  of  a   Pyramid-Temple 
(Twenty-eighth  Century  b.c.) 

Notice  the  pyramid  rising  behind  the  temple  (just  as  in  the  Frontis- 
piece also).  The  door  in  the  middle  leads  to  the  holy  place  built 
against  the  side  of  the  pyramid,  where  a  false  door  in  the  pyramid 
masonry  serves  as  the  portal  through  which  the  king  comes  forth  from 
the  world  of  the  dead  into  this  beautiful  temple  to  enjoy  the  food  and 
drink  placed  here  for  him  and  to  share  in  the  splendid  feasts  celebrated 
here.  The  center  of  the  court  is  open  to  the  sky  ;  the  roof  of  the  porch 
all  around  is  supported  on  columns,  the  earliest  known  in  the  history 
of  architecture.  Each  column  reproduces  a  palm  tree,  the  capital  being 
the  crown  of  foliage.  The  whole  place  was  colored  in  the  bright  hues 
of  nature,  including  the  painting  on  the  walls  behind  the  columns. 
Among  these  paintings  was  the  ship  in  Fig.  14 

colored  tapestry  hangings.  It  is  a  work  of  art,  bright  in  all  its 
decorations  with  the  beauty  of  the  outdoor  world  which  the 
Egyptian  so  much  loved.  His  lady  comes  forth  to  greet  him  in 
a  long  closely  fitting  robe  of  spotless  white  linen.    She  is  in  every 


Fig.  23.   Head  of  Statue  of  King  Khafre,  Builder  of  the 
Second  Pvra.mid  of  Gizeh  (Twenty-ninth  Century  b.c.) 

The  king  wears  a  linen  headdress,  and  a  false  beard  hanging  from  his 
chin.  A  falcon,  symbol  of  the  king  (see  Fig.  12),  hovers  protectingly 
over  his  head.  The  material  is  diorite,  a  stone  so  intensely  hard  that  no 
modern  sculptor  would  try  to  use  it.  Found  in  Khafre's  valley  temple 
by  the  Sphinx  at  Gizeh  (Plate  I) 


Fig. 


14.  The  Colossal  Columns  of  the  Nave  in  the  Great 
Hall  of  Karxak 


These  are  the  columns  of  the  middle  two  rows  in  Fig.  28.     The  tiny 
human  figures  below  show  by  contrast  the  vast  dimensions  of  the  col- 
umns towering  above  them  (p.  46) 


The  Story  of  Egypt  41 

way  his  equal,  his  sole  wife,  his  constant  companion,  enjoying 
every  right  possessed  by  her  husband. 

The  Egyptians  could  not  have  left  us  this  beautifully  painted   Art  of  the 
and  sculptured  room  (the  tomb-chapel)  unless  they  had  possessed  Age^— paint- 
trained  artists.   Indeed,  we  can  find  the  artist  who  painted  ^  these  ^"S  ^"^ 
walls,  where  he  has  represented  himself  enjoying  a  plentiful  feast 
among  other  people  of  the  estate  in  one  corner  of  the  wall.   Here 
he  has  written  his  name  over  his  head,  and  we  read  in  handsome 
hieroglyphs,  "  Nenekheptah,  the  artist."  His  drawings  all  around 
us  show  that  he  has  not  been  able  to  overcome  all  the  difficul- 
ties of  placing  objects  having  thickness  and  roundness  on  a  flat 
surface.    Animal  figures  are  drawn,  however,  with  great  beauty 
and  lifelikeness   (Figs.   16-20),  but  "perspective"  is  entirely 
unknown  to  him,  and  objects  in  the  background  or  distance  are 
drawn  of  the  same  size  as  those  in  front. 

The  sculptor  was  the  greatest  artist  of  this  age.    In  a  secret  Art  of  the 
chamber  alongside  this  chapel  there  is  a  portrait  statue  of  the   Age^— por- 
dead  lord  whose  tomb  we  have  visited.    A  multitude  of  these  trait  sculpture 
statues  have  been  found  in  this  cemetery.   They  were  thought  to 
furnish  the  dead  with  an  additional  body,  in  case  the  mummied 
body  should  perish.   These  are  the  earliest  portraits  in  the  history 
of  art.    They  were  colored  in  the  hues  of  life ;  the  eyes  were 
inlaid  of  rock  crystal,  and  they  still  shine  with  the  gleam  of  life.     ^ 
More  lifelike  portraits  have  never  been  produced  by  any  age.      ^ 
Such  statues  of  the  kings  are  often  superb  (Fig.  23).   They  were 
set  up  in  the  temples  which  the  Pharaoh  erected.  In  size,  the  most 
remarkable  statue  of  the  Pyramid  Age  is  the  Great  Sphinx,  which 
stands  here  in  this  cemetery  of  Gizeh.  The  head  is  a  portrait  of 
Khafre,  the  king  who  built  the  second  pyramid  of  Gizeh  (see 
Frontispiece),  and  was  carved  from  a  promontory  of  rock  which 
overlooked  the  royal  city.   It  is  the  largest  portrait  ever  wrought.^ 

1  Wonderfully  colored  ducks  and  geese  from  an  Egyptian  tomb  painting  of 
the  Pyramid  Age  will  be  found  as  headpiece  of  Chapter  II  (p.  i7)- 

2  The  art  of  the  age  of  course  also  included  architecture.  Its  most  important 
achievement  in  the  Pyramid  Age  was  the  colonnade,  of  which  a  good  example 
will  be  found  in  the  court  of  a  pyramid-temple  in  Fig.  22. 


42  Outlines  of  European  History 

Section  8.    The  Feudal  Age 

The  Nile  Probably  there  is  no  journey  more  interesting  than  the  voy- 

thetombsl)!    ^ge  "P  the  Nile  with  all  its  revelations  of  the  story  of  the  Nile 

the  Feudal      dwellers.    As  the  river  swinofs  from  cliff  to  cliff  the  steamer  in 
Age  ° 

which  the  traveler  leaves  Cairo  is  carried  under  many  a  tomb 

door  cut  in  the  face  of  the  cliff  and  giving  entrance  to  a  tomb 
excavated  in  the  rock  ^Fig.  25).  Here  are  the  tombs  of  the 
nobles  of  some  2000  b.c.  Their  ancestors  were  officials  of  the 
Pharaohs  in  the  Pyramid  Age.  But  the  nobles  who  made  these 
later  tombs  have  succeeded  in  gaining  greater  power  than  their 
ancestors.  They  no  longer  live  at  the  court  of  the  king,  nor 
build  their  tombs  around  the  pyramid  of  the  Pharaoh.  They  are 
barons  holding  large  estates,  which  they  bequeath  to  their  sons, 
and  the  Pharaoh  has  only  a  very  loose  control  over  them,  by  ar- 
rangements which  in  later  ages  are  called  feudal  (Chapter  XVI). 
We  therefore  call  this  the  P^udal  Age,  in  Egyptian  history.  It 
lasted  for  several  centuries  and  was  flourishing  by  2000  B.C. 
The  kindly  These  feudal  barons  ruled  the  people  on  their  great  domains 

feudal  with  much  kindness.    The  age  made  great  progress  in  the  realm 

of  conduct  and  kindly  treatment  of  one's  neighbors  and  espe- 
cially of  those  over  whom  one  had  power  (Fig.  25).  In  the  story 
of  man  we  find  here  the  earliest  chapter  in  human  kindness. 
The  evidence  for  it  is  not  lacking  in  the  cemetery^  but  in  the 
Feudal  Age  our  story  is  not  drawn  from  the  tomb  records  only, 
as  in  the  Pyramid  Age.  Fortunately  fragments  from  the  libraries 
of  these  feudal  barons  —  the  oldest  libraries  in  the  world  —  have 
been  discovered  in  their  tombs.  These  oldest  of  all  books  are 
in  the  form  of  rolls  of  papyrus  which  once  were  packed  in  jars, 
neatly  labeled  and  ranged  in  rows  on  the  noble's  library  shelves. 
Here  are  the  oldest  storybooks  in  the  world :  tales  of  wander- 
ings and  adventures  in  Asia ;  tales  of  shipwreck  at  the  gate  of 
the  unknown  ocean  beyond  the  Red  Sea  —  the  earliest  Sind- 
bad  the  Sailor ;  and  tales  of  wonders  wrought  by  ancient  wise 
men  and  magicians. 


barons ;  their 
libraries 


The  Story  of  Egypt 


43 


Some  of  these  stories  set  forth  the  sufferings  of  the  poor   Books  on 
and   the  humble  and  seek  to  stir  the  rulers  to  just  and  kind   andjlfsrice 
treatment  of  the  weaker  classes.    Some  picture  the  wickedness 


Fig.  25. 


Cliff-Tomb  of  an  Egyptian  Noble  of  the 
Feudal  Age 


The  chapel  entered  through  this  door  contains  painted  reliefs  like  those 
of  the  Pyramid  x\ge  (Figs.  16-20)  and  also  many  written  records.  In 
this  chapel  the  noble  tells  of  his  kind  treatment  of  his  people ;  he 
says :  "  There  was  no  citizen's  daughter  whom  I  misused  ;  there  was 
no  widow  whom  I  oppressed ;  there  was  no  peasant  whom  I  evicted ; 
there  was  no  shepherd  whom  I  expelled ;  .  .  .  there  was  none  wretched 
in  my  community,  there  was  none  hungry  in  my  time.  When  years 
of  famine  came  I  plowed  all  the  fields  of  the  Oryx  barony  [his  estate] 
.  .  .  preserving  its  people  alive  and  furnishing  its  food  so  that  there 
was  none  hungry  therein.  I  gave  to  the  widow  as  to  her  who  had  a 
husband ;  I  did  not  exalt  the  great  above  the  humble  in  anything  that 
I  gave"  (p.  44) 


of  men  and  the  hopelessness  of  the  future.  Others  tell  of  a 
righteous  ruler  who  is  yet  to  come,  a  "good  shepherd"  they 
call  him,  meaning  a  good  king  who  shall  bring  in  justice  and 


44 


Outlines  of  Europe ati  History 


happiness  for  all.  We  notice  here  a  contrast  with  the  Pyramid 
Age.  With  the  in-coming  of  the  pyramid-builders  we  saw  a 
tremendous  growth  in  power,  in  building,  and  in  art ;  but  the 
Feudal  Age  reveals  progress  in  a  higher  realm,  that  of  conduct 
and  character  (see  description  under  Fig.  25). 

Very  few  rolls  were  needed  to  contain  the  science  of  this  time. 
The  largest  and  the  most  valuable  roll  of  all  contains  what  they 
had  learned  about  medicine  and  the  organs  of  the  human  body. 
This  oldest  medical  book  when  unrolled  is  about  sixty-six  feet 
long  and  has  recipes  for  all  sorts  of  ailments.  Some  of  them 
call  for  remedies,  like  castor  oil,  which  are  still  in  common  use ; 
many  represent  the  ailment  as  due  to  demons,  which  were  long 
believed  to  be  the  cause  of  disease.  Other  rolls  contain  the 
simpler  rules  of  arithmetic,  geometry,  and  elementary  algebra. 
Even  observations  of  the  heavenly  bodies  with  crude  instruments 
were  made ;  but  these  records,  like  those  in  geography,  have 
been  lost. 

Section  9.    The  Empire 

As  we  continue  our  Nile  journey  southward,  the  course  of 
the  river  swings  sharply  eastward  toward  the  Red  Sea,  and  we 
round  a  great  bend  in  the  stream  (see  map,  p.  56).  All  at  once,  as 
we  look  toward  the  east  bank  through  the  thick  palm  groves,  we 
catch  glimpses  of  vast  masses  of  stone  masonry  and  lines  of  tall 
columns.  They  are  the  ruins  of  the  once  great  city  of  Thebes. 
Our  voyage  up  the  river  has  now  carried  us  through  many  cen- 
turies. The  monuments  along  its  banks  have  told  us  the  story 
of  two  of  the  three  periods  ^  into  which  the  career  of  this  great 
people  of  the  Nile  falls.  At  Thebes  we  reach  the  Empire,  the 
third  of  those  periods. 

A  walk  around  the  temple  of  Karnak  ^  here  is  as  instructive 
for  this  period  as  we  have  found  the  Gizeh  cemetery  to  be  for 

1  These  three  ages  are  (i)  Pyramid  Age,  about  3000  to  2500  b.c.  (section  7)  ; 
(2)  Feudal  Age,  flourishing  2000  B.C.  (section  8)  ;  (3)  The  Empire,  about  1580  to 
1 1 50  B.C.  (section  9). 

2  Karnak  is  a  tiny  modem  village  by  the  greatest  temple  at  Thebes. 


The  Story  of  Egypt 


45 


the  Pyramid  Age.   As  we  pass  along  the  north  wall  of  this  vast  Kamak  — be- 

temple  we  find  it  covered  with  enormous  sculptures  in  relief,  fhe"Ernptre- 

depicting  the  wars  of  the  Egyptians  in  Asia.    We  see  the  2:iant  arrival  of  the 

^  horse  in 

figure  of  the  Pharaoh  as  he  stands  in  his  war  chariot,  towering  Egypt 


Fig.  26.  A  Pharaoh  of  the  Empire  in  Battle 

The  Pharaoh  stands  in  his  chariot  with  the  reins  of  his  galloping  horses 
fastened  about  his  waist.  His  colossal  figure  towers  above  the  form  of 
the  opposing  chief  below,  who  throws  up  his  hands  as  the  Pharaoh  lifts 
a  curved  sword  to  strike  him  down.  The  tiny  figures  of  the  enemy  are 
scattered  beneath  the  Pharaoh's  horses.  This  is  one  of  an  enormous 
series  of  such  scenes,  one  hundred  seventy  feet  long,  carved  in  relief  on 
the  outside  of  the  Great  Hall  of  Karnak  (Fig.  24).  Such  sculpture  was 
brightly  colored  and  served  to  enhance  the  architectural  effect  and  to 
impress  the  people  with  the  heroism  of  the  Pharaoh 


above  all  his  fleeing  foes,  whom  he  drives  before  his  plunging 
horses  (Fig.  26).  This  is  the  first  time  we  have  met  the  horse 
on  the  ancient  monuments.  The  animal  has  been  imported 
from  Asia,  the  chariot  has  come  with  him,  and  Egypt  has  learned 


46 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Empire 

(1580-1150 

B.C.) 


warfare  on  a  scale  unknown  before.  The  Pharaohs  are  now 
great  generals,  who  lead  their  armies  into  Asia  and  establish 
an  empire  which  extends  from  the 
Euphrates  in  Asia  to  the  Fourth  Cata- 
ract of  the  Nile  in  Africa. 

This  world-power  of  the  Pharaohs 
lasted  from  the  early  sixteenth  century 
to  the  twelfth  century  B.C.,  something 
over  four  hundred  years.  The  great- 
est of  the  conquerors  during  all  this 
period  was  Thutmose  III,  who  ruled 
for  over  fifty  years,  beginning  about 
1500  B.C.  We  may  call  him  the  Napo- 
leon of  Egypt,  for'  he  was  the  first 
great  general  in  history,  and  he  carried 
on  wars  in  Asia  for  nearly  twenty  years, 
during  which  he  led  no  less  than 
seventeen  campaigns  there.  His  em- 
pire  was  slowly  lost  under  the  less 
powerful  rule  of  Ramses  II  and  his 
successors. 

The  wealth  which  the  Pharaohs  cap- 
tured in  Asia  and  Nubia  during  the 
Empire  enabled  them  to  live  in  such 
power  and  magnificence  as  the  world 
had  never  seen  before.  The  battle 
scenes  we  have  just  found  (Fig.  26) 
are  carved  on  the  walls  of  a  hall  of  the 
temple  of  Karnak  —  a  hall  so  large 
that  you  could  put  into  it  the  whole 
cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  in  Paris. 
The  columns  of  the  central  aisle  are 
sixty-nine  feet  high.  The  vast  capital 
forming  the  summit  of  each  column  is  large  enough  to  contain 
a  group  of  a  hundred  men  standing  upon  it  at  the  same  time. 


Fig.  27.  Portrait  of 
THE  Napoleon  of 
Ancient  Egypt,  Thut- 
mose III  (Fifteenth 
Century  b.c.) 

Carved  in  granite  and 
showing  the  great  con- 
queror (p.  46)  wearing 
the  tall  crown  of  Upper 
Egypt,  with  the  sacred 
asp  forming  a  serpent- 
crest  above  his  forehead 
(see  also  Fig.  130).  Such 
portraits  in  the  Empire 
can  be  compared  with 
the  actual  faces  of  these 
Egyptian  emperors  as 
we  have  them  in  their 
mummies  (Fig.  32),  and 
they  are  thus  shown  to 
be  good  likenesses 


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48 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  splendor 
of  the  Em- 
pire temples 
at  Thebes 


Painting  and 
sculpture  in 
the  temples 


As  will  be  seen  in  Fig.  28,  these  central  columns  are  taller 
than  those  on  each  side,  and  the  resulting  difference  in  the  level 
of  the  roof  permits  the  insertion  of  a  row  of  windows  on  each 
side  of  the  central  aisle.  Such  an  arrangement  of  the  roof  is 
called  a  clerestory  ("  clear  story  "),  and  the  aisle  with  its  columns 
and  windows  is  termed  a  "  nave."  It  is  found  in  simpler  form 
as  far  back  as  the  Pyramid  Age.  Later  it  passed  over  to  Europe, 
where  it  finally  appeared  as  the  leading  form  of  Christian  archi- 
tecture—  the  cathedral  church,  whose  nave,  side  aisles,  and 
clerestory  windows^  (Fig.  170)  have  descended  to  us  from  the 
colonnaded  temple  halls  of  Egypt.  These  buildings  of  the 
Empire  form  the  leading  chapter  in  the  early  history  of  great 
architecture,  though  we  should  not  forget  that  the  columns  em- 
ployed here  were  already  in  use  in  the  Pyramid  Age  (Fig.  22). 

Such  temples  as  these  at  Thebes  were  seen  through  the  deep 
green  of  clustering  palms,  among  towering  obelisks,  and  colossal 
statues  of  the  Pharaohs  (Fig.  29).  The  whole  was  bright  with 
color,  flashing  at  many  a  point  with  gold  and  silver,  and,  mir- 
rored in  the  unruffled  surface  of  the  temple  lake,  it  made  a 
picture  of  such  splendor  as  the  ancient  world  had  never  seen 
before.  These  temples  and  their  surrounding  monuments  were 
connected  by  imposing  avenues  of  sphinxes,  and  thus  grew  up 
at  Thebes  the  first  great  monumental  city  ever  built  by  man  — 
a  city  which  as  a  whole  was  itself  a  vast  and  imposing  monument. 

Much  of  the  grandeur  of  Egyptian  architecture  was  due  to 
the  sculptor  and  the  painter.  We  have  already  viewed  the  vast 
battle  scenes  carved  on  the  temple  wall  (Fig.  26).  These  scenes, 
like  the  rest  of  the  temple,  were  painted  in  bright  colors.  Portrait 
statues  of  the  Pharaoh  also  were  set  up  before  these  temples ; 
they  were  often  so  large  that  they  rose  above  the  towers  of  the 
temple  front  itself,  —  the  tallest  part  of  the  building,  —  and  they 
could  be  seen  for  miles  around  (Fig.  29).  The  sculptors  cut 
these  colossal  figures  from  a  single  block,  although  they  were 


1  These  things  were  borrowed  by  the  Christian  architects  from  the  Roman 
basilica,  which  in  turn  was  derived  from  Greece,  whither  it  had  gone  from  Egypt, 


Fig.  30.  Colossal  Portrait  Figure  of  Ramses  II  at  Abu  Simbel 
IN  Egyptian  Nubia  , 

Four  such  statues,  seventy-five  feet  high,  adorn  the  front  of  this  temple. 
They  are  better  preserved  than  those  in  Fig.  29,  and  show  us  that  such 
vast  figures  were  portraits.  The  face  of  Ramses  II  here  closely  re- 
sembles that  of  his  mummy.  Grand  view  of  the  Nubian  Nile,  on  which  the 
statues  have  looked  down  for  thirty-two  hundred  years  (see  p.  49).  View 
taken  from  the  top  of  the  crown  of  one  of  the  statues  and  never  before 
published.    (Photograph  by  The  University  of  Chicago  Expedition) 


The  Story  of  Egypt 


49 


sometimes  eighty  or  ninety  feet  high  and  weighed  as  much  as 

a  thousand  tons.   This  is  a  burden  equivalent  to  the  load  drawn 

by  a  modern  freight  train,  but  it  was  not  cut  up  into  small  units 

of  light  weight  convenient  for  handling  and  loading  like  the 

train  load.     Nevertheless  the  engineers  of  the  Empire  moved 

many  such  vast  figures  for 

hundreds    of    miles.     They 

generally  dragged  the  statue 

on  a  huge  sledge  to  the  river, 

and  then  transported  it  in  a 

large  boat.    It  is  in  works  of 

this     massive     monumental 

character    that    the    art    of 

Egypt  excelled  (Fig.  30). 

Two  of  these  enormous 
portraits  of  the  Pharaoh 
still  stand  on  the  western 
plain  of  Thebes  (Fig.  29). 
A  splendid  temple,  now 
vanished,  once  rose  behind 
them.  In  the  background 
we  see  the  majestic  cliffs  of 
the  western  valley  wall.  Be- 
hind these  cliffs  is  a  lonely 
valley  (Fig.  31)  where  the 
Pharaohs  of  the  Empire  were 
buried  in  tombs  reached  by 
long  galleries  cut  far  into 
the  mountain.  Some  of  their 
bodies  have  been  preserved, 
and  we  are  able  to  look  into  the  very  faces  of  these  great  em- 
perors who  lived  as  much  as  thirty-four  hundred  years  ago 
(Fig.  32). 

In  these  cliffs  (Fig.  29),  which  look  down  upon  the  Theban 
plain,  are  cut  hundreds  of  tomb-chapels  belonging  to  the  great 


Fig.   31.     Valley    at    Thebes 

WHERE    THE    PhARAOHS    OF    THE 

Empire  were  buried 

In  the  Empire  (after  1600  B.C.)  the 
Pharaohs  had  ceased  to  erect  pyra- 
mids. They  excavated  their  tombs 
in  the  mountains  of  this  valley,  pen- 
etrating in  long  galleries  hundreds 
of  feet  into  the  rock.  Taken  from 
here  and  concealed  near  by,  the 
bodies  of  many  of  the  Pharaohs, 
although  long  ago  stripped  of  their 
valuables  by  tomb  robbers,  have  sur- 
vived and  now  lie  in  the  National 
Museum  of  Egypt  at  Cairo  (Fig.  32) 


The  ceme- 
ter\'  of 
Thebes ;  the 
tombs  of  the 
Pharaohs  and 
the  royal 
bodies 


so 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Tombs  of  the 
great  men  of 
the  Empire 


Fig.  32. 

IN     HIS 


men  of  the  Empire.  Here  were  buried  the  able  generals  who 
marched  with  the  Pharaoh  on  his  campaigns  in  Asia  and  in 
Nubia.  Here  lay  the  gifted  artists  and  architects  who  furnished 
a  new  chapter  in  the  history  of  art  —  the  men  who  were  in 
charge  of  erecting  the  vast  buildings  and  sculptured  monuments 

(Fig.  30)  of  Thebes  — 
the  men  whose  genius 
made  it  the  first  great 
monumental  city  of  the 
ancient  world,  so  that 
its  ruins  are,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  marvel 
of  a  host  of  modern 
visitors.  We  can  enter 
these  chapels  and  read 
the  names  of  these  men 
on  their  walls  —  and 
not  only  their  names 
but  long  accounts  of 
their  lives  and  the 
great  deeds  which  they 
wrought.  Here  is  the 
story  of  the  general 
who  saved  Thutmose 
nPs  life  in  a  great 
elephant  hunt  in  Asia, 
by  rushing  in  and  cut- 
ting off  the  trunk  of  an 
enraged  elephant  which 
was  pursuing  the  king. 
Here  is  the  tomb  of  the  general  who  captured  the  city  of  Joppa 
in  Palestine  by  concealing  his  men  in  panniers  loaded  on  the 
backs  of  donkeys,  thus  bringing  them  into  the  city  as  mer- 
chandise —  an  adventure  which  afterward  furnished  part  of  the 
story  of  "Ali  Baba  and  the  Forty  Thieves." 


LiOlA-    OF    SeTI    1    AS    HE    LIES 

Coffin    in    the    National 
Museum  at  Cairo 


This  king  lived  in  the  Empire  in  the  four- 
teenth century  B.C.  He  was  buried  in  the 
valley  shown  in  Fig.  31.  His  successors 
being  unable  to  protect  his  body  and  those 
of  other  emperors  from  tomb  robbers,  hid 
them  all  in  a  large  secret  chamber  exca- 
vated near  the  valley  in  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury B.C.  Here  the  bodies  lay  unmolested 
for  about  three  thousand  years,  until  they 
were  discovered  and  brought  forth  in  1881 


The  Story  of  Egypt 


51 


The  very  furniture  which  these  great  men  used  m  their  houses   The  furniture 

and  equip- 
ment of  tlie 


was  put  into  these  tombs.  Many  beautiful  things,  like  chairs 
covered  with  gold  and  silver  and  fitted  with  soft  leathern  cush- 
ions (Fig.  33),  beds  of  sumptuous  workmanship,  jewel  boxes 
and  perfume  caskets  of  the  ladies  (Fig.  34),  or  even  the 
gold-covered  chariot 
in  which  the  Theban 
noble  took  his  after- 
noon airing,  thirty- 
three  or  thirty-four 
hundred  years  ago, 
have  been  found  in 
these  tombs  and 
may  now  be  seen 
in  the  National 
Museum  at  Cairo. 
This  city  of  Thebes 
with  its  majestic 
temples  and  monu- 
ments and  its  vast 
cemetery  is  thus  a 
great  chapter  in  that 
vast  historical  vol- 
ume of  the  Nile 
which  we  are  read- 
ing —  it  is  the 
chapter  which  tells 
us  the  impressive 
story  of  the  Egyp- 
tian Empire. 

This  cemetery  discloses  to  us  also  how  much  further  the  Egyp- 
tian has  advanced  in  his  religion  since  the  days  of  the  pyramids 
of  Gizeh.  Each  of  these  great  men  buried  in  the  Theban  ceme- 
tery looked  forward  to  a  judgment  in  the  hereafter  —  a  judg- 
ment at  which  he  would   be  called  upon  to  answer  for  the 


Empire 
tombs 


5^ 


Fig.  33.  Armchair  from  the  House  of 
AN  Egyptian  Noble  of  the  Empire 

This  chair  with  other  furniture  from  his  house 
was  placed  in  his  tomb,  at  Thebes  in  the  early 
part  of  the  fourteenth  century  B.C.  There  it 
remained  for  nearly  thirty-three  hundred  years, 
till  it  was  discovered  in  1905  and  removed  to 
the  National  Museum  at  Cairo  (p.  51) 


Religion  in 
the  Empire 


52 


Outlines  of  Eiwopcan  History 


character  of  his  life  on  earth  and  to  show  whether  it  had  been 
good  or  bad.  Osiris  was  the  great  judge  and  king  in  the  next 
world,  for  he  himself  had  suffered  death  but  had  triumphed 
over  it  and  had  risen  from  the  dead  (p.  27).  Every  good  man 
might  rise  from  the  dead  as  Osiris  had  done ;  but  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Osiris  he  would 
be  obliged  to  see  his 
soul  weighed  in  the 
balances  over  against 
the  symbol  of  truth  and 
justice  (Fig.  35).  The 
dead  man's  friends  al- 
ways put  into  his  coffin 
a  roll  of  papyrus  con- 
taining prayers  and 
magic  charms  which 
would  aid  him  in  the 
hereafter,  and  among 
these  was  a  picture  of 
the  judgment.  We  now 
call  this  roll  the  "  Book 
of  the  Dead." 

It  was  in  these  great 
days  of  the  Empire  that 
some  of  the  leading 
Egyptians  gained  the 
belief  in  a  single  god  to 
the  exclusion  of  all 
others.  Such  a  belief 
we  call  monotheism  (see  p.  108).  Ikhnaton,  the  greatest  of  their 
kings,  endeavored  to  make  this  faith  in  one  god  the  religion 
of  the  Empire,  but  the  opposition  of  the  priests  and  the  people 
was  too  strong,  and  he  perished  in  the  attempt. 

But  these  monuments  of  Thebes  do  not  tell  us  of  the  Egyp- 
tians alone.     \\\  find   also   in  the   temple-sculptures   and   the 


Fig.  34.    Jewel    Casket    from    the 

House  of  a  Noble  Egyptian  Lady 

OF  THE  Empire 

This  lady  was  the  wife  of  the  owner  of  the 
chair  (Fig.  33),  and  the  casket  was  placed 
in  the  same  tomb  where  both  the  noble 
and  his  wife  were  buried.  The  casket  is 
overlaid  with  red  and  blue  incrustation  of 
glaze  in  the  brightest  tones.  The  inscrip- 
tions contain  the  name  of  the  king  who 
gave  the  casket  to  the  lady 


TJie  Story  of  Egypt 


53 


tomb-chapel  paintings  many  a  scene  which  shows  us 
peoples  of  the  northern  Mediterranean  whom  we  left  in 
Late  Stone  As^e.    On  these  Egyptian  monuments  we  find  them  Sl°^^  ?^  ^^^ 

°  °-'  ^  Egyptian 


the    The  end  of 

1        the  Nile  voy- 
tne    age  and  the 


after  they  have  received  metal 

hands  (Fig.  1 06)  we 

see   them   serving 

as  hired  soldiers  in 

the  Egyptian  army. 

These  northern- 
ers finally  entered 

Egypt      in      such 

numbers    that    in 

the  twelfth  cen- 
tury B.C.  the  w^eak- 

ened         Egyptian 

Empire  fell  and 
re- 
old 
But 


With  huge  metal  swords  in  their   Empire 


fe-yp- 

Its 


never  agam 
covered  her 
leadership, 
the  civilization  of 
Egypt  did  not 
perish  with  the 
fall  of  the  E 
tian  Empire 
culture  survived 
far  down  into  the 
Christian  Age  and 
greatly  influenced 
later  history,  con- 
tributing many 
things  to  Europe, 
as,  for  example, 
the  ancient  calen- 
dar of  the  Nile 
dwellers  (p.  23). 


Fig.  35.  Judgment  Scene  from  the 
Book  of  the  Dead 


At  the  left  we  see  entering,  in  white  robes,  the 
deceased,  a  man  named  Ani,  and  his  wife.  Be- 
fore them  are  the  balances  of  judgment  for 
weighing  the  human  heart,  to  determine  whether 
it  is  just  or  not.  A  jackal-headed  god  adjusts 
the  scales,  while  an  Ibis-headed  god  stands  be- 
hind him,  pen  in  hand,  ready  to  record  the  ver- 
dict of  the  balances.  Behind  him  is  a  monster 
with  head  of  a  crocodile,  fore  quarters  of  a  lion, 
and  hind  quarters  of  a  hippopotamus,  ready  to 
devour  the  unjust  soul.  The  small  figure  of  a 
man  at  the  left  of  the  scales  is  the  god  of  des- 
tiny, and  behind  him  are  two  goddesses  of 
birth.  These  three  who  presided  over  Ani's  ar- 
rival in  this  world  now  stand  by  to  watch  the 
result  of  his  life,  as  his  heart  (symbolized  by  a 
tiny  jar),  in  the  left  scalepan,  is  weighed  over 
against  right  and  truth  (symbolized  by  a  feather) 
in  the  right-hand  scalepan.  The  scene  is 
painted  in  water  colors  on  papyrus.  Such  a  roll 
is  sometimes  as  much  as  ninety  feet  long  and 
filled  from  beginning  to  end  with  magical 
charms  for  the  use  of  the  dead  in  the  next 
world.  Hence  the  modern  name  for  the  whole 
roll,  the  "  Book  of  the  Dead  " 


54  Oiit lines  of  European  History 

The  voyage  up  the  Nile  has  told  us,  age  by  age,  the  story  of 
Egypt  and  disclosed  to  us  early  man  advancing  out  of  the  Late 
Stone  Age  to  the  discovery  of  metal,  and  then  going  on  to 
develop  a  high  civilization  of  far-reaching  power  and  influence. 
Our  Nile  journey  has  also  showed  us  how  we  gain  knowledge  of 
ancient  men  and  their  deeds,  through  the  monuments  and  records 
which  they  have  left  behind.  Such  monuments  and  records  have 
also  been  discovered  along  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  rivers  in 
Asia.  They  show  us  that,  following  the  Egyptians,  the  Asiatic 
peoples  rose  to  the  leading  position  of  power  in  the  ancient 
world,  and  we  must  therefore  turn  in  the  next  chapter  to  the 
story  of  the  early  Orient  in  Asia. 


QUESTIONS 

Section  6.  Where  is  Egypt.?  Describe  the  modern  traveler's 
journey  into  the  country.  Whence  came  the  soil  of  Egypt  '^.  What 
are  the  shape  and  character  of  the  country .?  Give  its  area.  Describe 
Jts  climate.   What  is  the  adjoining  country  like.-^ 

What  remains  have  the  Stone  Age  Egyptians  left  behind.?  De- 
scribe their  life,  industries,  and  government.  How  did  they  originate 
writing?  writing  materials?  Is  there  any  more  important  achieve- 
ment of  civilization  than  the  invention  of  writing? 

Describe  the  origin  of  the  calendar  and  its  final  form  in  Egypt. 
Whence  came  our  calendar  ?  Describe  the  probable  manner  of  the 
discovery  of  copper.  What  great  ages  of  the  career  of  man  do 
Egyptian  remains  link  together  for  us  ?  Have  we  any  such  link  any- 
where else  ?  Do  the  monuments  along  the  Nile  continue  for  us  the 
story  of  man  after  the  discovery  of  metal,  writing,  etc.  ?  Why  may 
we  call  the  Nile  valley  a  historical  volume  ? 

Section  7.  What  was  the  purpose  of  a  pyramid?  What  do  such 
buildings  reveal  to  us  about  Egyptian  religious  beliefs  ?  Give  an 
account  of  the  gods  of  Egypt.  What  does  the  cemetery  of  Gizeh 
reveal  to  us  about  the  early  Egyptian's  progress  in  building? 

How  long  before  the  Gizeh  pyramids  was  he  still  building  royal 
tombs  of  sun-baked  brick  ?  Draw  the  line  of  surviving  tomb  buildings 
in  which  we  can  follow  the  Egyptian's  progress  from  sun-baked  brick 


The  Story  of  Egypt  5  5 

to  stone  masonry  (Fig.  13).  How  much  time  was  needed  for  this 
progress  ?    In  what  century  did  most  of  it  fall  ? 

With  what  other  century  may  we  compare  it  in  such  matters? 
What  do  such  buildings  reveal  to  us  about  government  in  the  Pyra- 
mid Age  ?  Give  the  date  and  length  of  the  Pyramid  Age.  Date  and 
describe  the  earliest-known  seagoing  ships. 

Discuss  foreign  commerce  in  the  Pyramid  Age.  Describe  a  tomb- 
chapel  in  the  Pyramid  Age.  Write  an  account  of  the  industries  and 
the  social  life  revealed  in  the  tomb-chapels  of  the  Pyramid  Age. 
Describe  the  art  of  the  Pyramid  Age. 

Section  8.  How  does  the  Nile  voyage  continue  the  story  of  the 
Egyptians  ?  Discuss  the  Feudal  Age.  Give  its  date.  Give  an  account 
of  the  feudal  barons.  Catalogue  the  contents  of  a  library  of  this  age. 
W^hat  kind  of  progress  was  being  made.'' 

Section  9.  Through  what  ages  has  the  voyage  up  the  Nile  carried 
us  ?  What  great  age  do  we  find  revealed  at  Thebes,  and  what  is  its  out- 
standing character .''  Give  the  date  and  extent  of  the  Egyptian  Empire. 
Who  was  its  greatest  conqueror  t  Describe  the  great  buildings  of  the 
Empire.  Describe  a  clerestory,  and  draw  a  diagram  representing  a 
cross  section  of  one. 

Compare  it  with  a  cross  section  of  a  Christian  cathedral  (Fig.  182). 
Describe  the  painting  and  sculpture  in  the  Empire  temples.  Give  an 
account  of  the  cemetery  at  Thebes.  How  do  the  tombs  differ  from 
those  of  the  Pyramid  Age  ? 

Recount  some  of  the  stories  of  the  great  men  of  the  Empire  which 
the  Theban  tomb-chapels  tell  us.  What  do  they  reveal  of  Egyptian 
progress  in  religion?  What  foreigners  do  the  Theban  monuments 
reveal  to  us  ?  Did  Egyptian  civilization  continue  after  the  fall  of  the 
Empire?    Give  an  example  of  its  later  influence. 


^f!   ^i 


'^-'5^ 


^ 


^«^^  ^^^jg^j4ffliiisi>*^^ 


CHAPTER  III 

WESTERN  ASIA  :   BABYLONIA,  ASSYRIA,  AND  CHALDEA 

Section  io.   The  Lands  and  Races  of 
Western  Asia 


Water 

boundaries  of 
western  Asia 


Mountainous 
north :  desert 
south 


The  fertile 

crescent 

between 


The  westernmost  reach  of  Asia  is  an  irregular  region  roughly 
included  within  the  circuit  of  waters  marked  out  by  the  Caspian 
and  Black  seas  on  the  north,  by  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Red 
seas  on  the  west,  and  by  the  Indian  Ocean  and  the  Persian 
Gulf  on  the  south  and  east.  It  is  a  region  consisting  chiefly 
of  mountains  on  the  north  and  desert  on  the  south.  The  earli- 
est home  of  men  in  this  great  arena  of  western  Asia  is  a 
borderland  between  desert  and  mountains  —  a  kind  of  culti- 
vable fringe  of  the  desert — a  fertile  crescent  having  the  moun- 
tains on  one  side  and  the  desert  on  the  other. 

This  fertile  crescent  is  approximately  a  semicircle,  with  the 
open  side  toward  the  south,  having  the  west  end  at  the  southeast 
comer  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  center  directly  north  of  Arabia, 
and  the  east  end  at  the  north  end  of  the  Persian  Gulf  (see 
map,  p.  56).  It  lies  like  an  army  facing  south,  with  one  wing 
stretching  along  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  the 
other  reaching  out  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  while  the  center  has  its 

56 


Western  Asia:  Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  Chaldea      57 

back  against  the  northern  mountains.  The  end  of  the  western 
wing  is  Palestine,  Assyria  makes  up  a  large  part  of  the  center, 
while  the  end  of  the  eastern  wing  is  Babylonia. 

This  great  semicircle,  for  lack  of  a  name,  may  be  called  the  The  desert- 
fertile  crescent.^  It  may  also  be  likened  to  the  shores  of  a  ^^^ 
desert-bay,  upon  which  the  mountains  behind  look  down  —  a 
bay,  not  of  water  but  of  sandy  waste,  some  five  hundred  miles 
across,  forming  a  northern  extension  of  the  Arabian  desert,  and 
sweeping  as  far  north  as  the  latitude  of  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  Mediterranean.  After  the  meager  winter  rains  much  of  the 
northern  desert-bay  is  clothed  with  scanty  grass,  and  spring  thus 
turns  the  region  for  a  short  time  into  grasslands.  Much  of  the 
history  of  western  Asia  may  be  described  as  an  age-long  struggle 
between  the  mountain  peoples  of  the  north  and  the  desert  wan- 
derers of  these  grasslands  —  a  struggle  which  is  still  going  on  — ' 
for  the  possession  of  the  fertile  crescent,  the  shores  of  the 
desert-bay. 

Arabia  is  totally  lacking  in  rivers  and  enjoys  but  a  few  weeks   The  Arabian 
of  rain  in  midwinter;  hence  it  is  a  desert  very  little  of  which  is   fhes^emhlc 
habitable.    Its  people  are  and  have  been  from  the  remotest  ages  "on^^d 
a  great  white  race  called  Semites,  with  two  of  whose  tribes  we 
are  familiar,  the  Arabs,  and  the  Hebrews  whose  descendants 
dwell  among  us.    They  all  spoke  and  still  speak  dialects  of  the 
same  tongue,  of  which  Hebrew  was  one.    For  ages  they  have 
moved  up   and  down  the  habitable   portions  of  the  Arabian 
world,   seeking  pasturage  for  their  flocks  and  herds.      Such 
wandering  shepherds  are  called  nomads. 

From  the  earliest  times,  when  the  spring  grass  of  the  northern   Ceaseless 
wilderness  is  gone,  they  have  been  constantly  drifting  in  from   nomad^rom 
the  sandy  sea  upon  the  shores  of  the  northern  desert-bay.     If  ^"^^  ^^s^'"*  ^° 

.u  r       •  ,  ,  11  ,1  -^  .  .         the  fertile 

they  can  secure  a  lootmg  there,  they  slowly  make  the  transition  crescent 
from  the  wandering  life  of  the  desert  nomad  to  the  settled  life 

1  There  is  no  name,  either  geographical  or  political,  which  includes  all  of  this 
great  semicircle  (see  map,  p.  56) .  Hence  we  are  obliged  to  coin  a  term  and  call 
it  the  "fertile  crescent." 


58 


Outlines  of  Eicivpean  History 


of  the  agricultural  peasant.  This  slow  shift  at  times  swells  into 
a  great  tidal  wave  of  migration,  when  the  wild  hordes  of  the 
wilderness  roll  in  upon  the  fertile  shores  of  the  desert-bay  —  a 
human  tide  from  the  desert  to  the  towns  which  they  overwhelm. 
We  can  see  this  process  going  on  for  thousands  of  years. 
Among  such  movements  we  are  familiar  with  the  passage  of 
the  Hebrews  from  the  desert  into  Palestine,  as  described  in  the 


Fig.  36.   The  Euphrates  at  Babylon  in  Winter 

The  winter  rainfall  (p.  61)  is  so  slight  that  the  river  shrinks  to  a  very 
low  level  and  its  bed  is  exposed  and  dry  almost  to  the  middle.  In 
summer  the  rains  and  melting  snows  in  the  northern  mountains  swell 
the  river  till  it  overflows  its  banks  and  inundates  the  Babylonian  plain. 
The  house  on  the  right  is  the  dwelling  of  the  German  Expedition  still 
engaged  in  excavating  Babylon 


Bible ;  and  we  shall  later  learn  (Chapter  XIV)  of  the  invasions 
of  the  Arab  hosts  of  Islam,  which  even  reached  Europe.  After 
they  had  adopted  a  settled  town  life  the  colonies  of  the  Semites 
stretched  far  westward  through  the  Mediterranean,  especially  in 
northern  Africa,  even  to  southern  Spain  and  the  Atlantic  (see 
diagram,  Fig.  49).  But  it  took  many  centuries  for  the  long  line 
of  their  settlements  to  creep  slowly  westward  until  it  reached  the 
Atlantic,  and  we  must  begin  with  the  Semites  in  the  desert. 


Western  Asia :  Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  Chaldea      59 

The  life  of  the  wandering  Semites  in  the  desert  is  very  simple.    Life  on  the 
They  possess  only  scanty,  movable  property,  chiefly  flocks  and 
herds.    They  hold  no  land,  they  know  no  law,  they  are  unable 
to  write.    They  are  practically  without  industries,  and  thus  the 
desert  tribesmen  lead  a  life  of  untrammeled  freedom.    Their 
needs  oblige  them  to  traffic  now  and  then  in  the  towns,  and   Traffic  and 
through  such  connections  with  the  townsmen  these  desert  wan-      ^  caravan 
derers  often  become  the  common  carriers  of  the  settled  com- 
munities, fearlessly  leading  their  caravans  across  the  wastes  of 
the  desert  sea,  especially  between  Syria-Palestine  and  Babylonia. 

The  wilderness  is  the  nomad's  home.  His  imagination  peoples  Religion  of 
the  far  reaches  of  the  desert  with  invisible  and  uncanny  crea- 
tures, who  inhabit  every  rock  and  tree,  hilltop  and  spring.  These 
creatures  are  his  gods.  Each  one  of  these  beings  controls  only 
a  litde  corner  of  the  great  world ;  he  becomes  the  nomad's 
tribal  god  and  journeys  with  him  from  pasture  to  pasture, 
sharing  his  food  and  his  feasts  and  receiving  as  his  due  from 
the  tribesman  the  first-born  of  the  flocks  and  herds.  The  thoughts 
of  the  desert  wanderer  about  such  a  god  are  crude  and  barbarous, 
and  his  religious  customs  are  often  savage,  even  leading  him  to 
sacrifice  his  children  to  appease  the  angr)^  god.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  nomad  has  a  dawning  sense  of  justice  and  of  right, 
and  he  feels  obligations,  of  kindness  to  his  fellows  which  he  be- 
lieves are  the  compelling  voice  of  his  god.  Such  lofty  moral 
vision  made  the  Semites  the  religious  teachers  of  the  civilized 
world.  At  the  same  time  these  Semites  had  practical  gifts  which 
made  them  the  greatest  merchants  of  the  ancient  world,  as  their 
Hebrew  descendants  among  us  still  are  at  the  present  day. 

As  early  as  3000  b.c.  or  a  little  after,  they  were  drifting  in  The  western 
from  the  desert  and  settling  in  Palestine,  where  we  find  them 
in  possession  of  walled  towns  by  2500  B.C.  (Fig.  55).  These 
predecessors  of  the  Hebrews  in  Palestine  were  a  tribe  called 
Canaanites  (p.  102);  further  north  settled  a  powerful  tribe  known 
as  Amorites  (p.  67) ;  while  along  the  shores  of  north  Syria 
some  of  these  one-time  desert  wanderers  had  taken  to  the  sea, 


Semites 


6o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


and  had  become  the  Phcrnicians  (p.  137).    Ijy  2000  B.C.  all  these 
settled  communities  of  the   Semites  had  developed   no   mean 

degree  of  civilization,  drawn 


^i'V"c:r 


/ 


/ 


jf 


Fig.  37.  Early  Sumerian  Wedge- 
Writing,  THE  Earliest  Writing 
OF  Babylonia  (about  2900  b.c.) 

Such  archaic  examples  (3000  to  2500 
B.C.)  were  written  in  short  vertical 
lines  read  downward.  Each  sign  was 
a  picture.  Pressing  the  corner  of  a 
square  reed-tip  into  the  soft  clay  for 
each  line  of  the  picture  tended  to 
produce  a  wedge-shaped  line,  and 
each  picture  thus  became  a  group  of 
wedge-shaped  lines.  These  signs  were 
also  employed  engraved  on  stone. 
The  above  inscription  is  on  a  frag- 
ment of  a  stone  mortar  and  records 
a  Sumerian  king's  dedication  of  the 
mortar  to  a  goddess.  Among  other 
things  the  king  prays  to  the  goddess, 
"  May  the  king  of  Kish  not  seize  it 
[the  mortar],"  showing  the  dangers 
of  this  Age  of  the  City-States  (p.  64) 

1  This  distance  applies  only  to  ancient  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  days.  The 
rivers  have  since  then  filled  up  the  Persian  Gulf  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  to 
one  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  and  the  gulf  is  that  much  shorter  at  the  present 
day  (see  note  under  scale  on  map,  p.  56). 


for  the  most  part  from  Egypt 
and  Babylonia. 

At  the  same  time  we  can 
watch  similar  movements  of 
the  nomads  at  the  eastern 
end  of  our  fertile  crescent 
(p.  56),  along  the  lower 
course  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates  (Fig.  36).  These 
two  rivers  rise  in  the  north- 
ern mountains  (see  map, 
p.  56),  whence  they  issue  to 
cross  the  fertile  crescent  and 
to  cut  obliquely  southeast- 
ward through  the  northern 
bay  of  the  desert  (p.  57), 
As  the  rivers  approach  most 
closely  to  each  other,  about 
one  hundred  and  sixty  or 
seventy  miles  from  the 
Persian  Cjulf,^  they  emerge 
from  the  desert  and  enter 
a  low  plain  of  fertile  soil, 
formerly  brought  down  by 
the  rivers  to  fill  a  prehis- 
toric bay  like  the  Delta 
of  the  Nile.  This  plain  is 
Babylonia,  the  eastern  end 
of  the  fertile  crescent. 


Western  Asia :   Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  Ckaldea     6l 

Rarely  more  than  forty  miles  wide,  this  plain  contained  prob-   Area  of  the 
ably  less  than  eight  thousand  square  miles  of  cultivable  soil  —   plain  °"'^" 
roughl}'  equal  to  the  state  of  New  Jersey  or  the  territory  of 
Wales.     It  lies  in  the  Mediterranean  belt  of  rainy  winter  and 
dry  summer,  but  the  rainfall  is  so  scanty  (less  than  three  inches 
a  year)  that  irrigation  of  the  fields  is  required  in  order  to  ripen 
the  grain.     When  properly  irrigated  the  plain  is  prodigiously   its  fertility 
fertile,  and  the  chief  source  of  wealth  in  Babylonia  was  agri- 
culture.    This  plain  was  the  scene  of  the  most  important  and 
long-continued  of  those  frequent  struggles  between  the  moun- 
taineer and  the  nomad,  of  which  we  have  spoken. 

Section    ii.   The  Earliest  Babylonians 

The  mountaineers  were  not  Semitic  and  show  no  relationship    Race  of  the 
to  the  Semitic  nomads  of  the  Arabian  desert.^   We  are  indeed   ^ans    ""^^' 
unable  to  connect  the  earliest  of  these  mountain  peoples  with 
any  of  the  great  racial  groups  known  to  us.     We  find  them 
shown  on  monuments  of  stone,  as  having  shaven  heads  and 
wearing  heavy  woolen  kilts  (Fig.  41).   While  they  were  still  using  Sumerians 
stone  implements,  some  of  these  mountaineers,  now  known  as   Babylonian 
Sumerians,  pushed  through  the  passes  of  the  eastern  mountains  P^^^'^ 
at  a  very  early  date.    Long  before  3000  B.C.  they  had  reclaimed 
the  marshes  around  the  mouths  of  the  two  rivers  of  Babylonia. 

Their  settlements  of  low  mud-brick  huts  soon  creep  northward   Their 
along  the  river  banks.    They  learn  to  control  the  spring  freshets  civilization 
with  dikes  and  to  distribute  the  waters  in  irrigation  trenches. 
They  already  possess  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats.   The  ox  draws  the 
plow,  and  the  ass  pulls  wheeled  o.djX.'s,  and  chariots,  and  the  wheel 
as  a  burden-bearing  device  emerges  here  for  the  first  time.^   But 

1  On  the  other  hand,  although  they  were  certainly  white  races,  the  moun- 
taineers exhibited  no  relationship  to  the  Indo-European  group  of  peoples  who 
were  already  spreading  through  the  country  north  and  east  of  the  Caspian  at  a 
very  early  date.  The  Indo-European  peoples,  from  whom  we  ourselves  have 
descended,  are  discussed  in  section  16. 

2  Probably  earlier  than  the  wheel  in  the  Swiss  lake-villages  of  the  Late  Stone 
Age  (p.  12). 


62 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Sumerian 
wedge- 
writing  and 
calendar 


Sumerian 
religion 


"TT 

1 

1^ 

r<T 

j    1    '  § 

1 

Sis^* 

^gas    '    ' 

1        !  1      -       i 

1  t 

3t 

l. 

in 

.ii 

ii  1 

the  horse  is  still  unknown.  Traffic  with  the  upper  river  brings 
in  metal  from  the  Nile  valley,  and  the  smith  learns  to  fashion 
utensils  of  copper.  But  he  has  not  yet  learned  to  harden  the 
copper  into  bronze  by  admixture  of  tin. 

Traffic  and  government  have  taught  these  people  to  make 
records,  scratched  in  rude  pictures  with  the  tip  of  a  reed  on  a 
fiat  piece  of  soft  clay.  Speed  in  writing  simplified  these  pictures 
into  groups  of  wedge-shaped  marks,  once  the  lines  of  the  picture 

(Fig.  37).  Hence 
these  signs  are  called 
cuneiform,  mean- 
ing "  wedge-form," 
writing  (Latin,  cu- 
neus^  "  wedge  "). 
This  writing  was 
phonetic,  but  did 
not  possess  alpha- 
betic signs.  In 
order  to  date  events 
in  a  given  year, 
each  year  received 
a  name,  after  some 
important  event 
which  had  hap- 
pened in  it.  The 
year  was  composed 
of  moon-months,  twelve  of  which  fall  very  far  short  of  making 
up  a  solar  year.  An  extra  month  must  be  inserted  every  three 
years  or  so.  This  inconvenient  calendar  was  also  employed  by 
later  peoples  of  the  Mediterranean,  until  it  was  replaced  by  that 
of  Egypt  (pp.  23  and  268),  which  we  now  use.^ 

In  the  midst  of  their  most  sacred  town  we  see  rising  a  tall 
pyramidal  mount  of  brick  (compare  Fig.  43)  which  serves  as  the 

1  The  moon-month  calendar  is  still  in  use  among  the  oriental  Jews  and 
Mohammedans. 


Fig.  38.  Restoration  of  an  Early 
Babylonian  House.   (After  Koldewey) 

The  towns  of  the  early  Babylonians  were  small 
and  were  chiefly  made  of  such  sun-baked  brick 
houses  as  these.  Their  simple  adornment  con- 
sisted only  of  vertical  panels  and  a  stepped 
("crenelated")  edge  at  the  top  of  the  wall. 
The  doors  were  crowned  by  arches  in  contrast 
with  the  Egyptians,  who  knew  the  arch  but 
preferred  a  horizontal  line  above  all  doorways 


Western  Asia :  Babylo7iia,  Assyria,  and  Chaldea     63 

dwelling  of  Enlil,  their  great  god  of  the  air.  It  is  an  artificial 
mountain,  built  in  memory  of  an  ancient  temple  on  a  hilltop  in 
their  former  mountain  home.  It  was  such  a  temple-tower  in 
Babylon  which  later  gave  rise  to  the  story  of  the  "  Tower  of 
Babel "'  among  the  Hebrews.  Such  "  nature  gods  "  as  Enlil 
form  the  center  of  their  life ;  the  temple  in  each  community 


IS^- 


<^ 


.^^•^. 


%^. 


**^      *^     *m  ^^    Pi^K. 


■.m^r% 


^^ 


Fig.  39.  A  Sumerian  Line  of  Battle 


The  troops  of  a  Sumerian  city-king,  marching  into  battle,  about  2900 
B.C.  The  king  himself,  whose  face  is  broken  off  from  the  stone, 
marches  at  the  right,  heading  his  troops,  who  follow  in  a  close  phalanx, 
with  spears  set  for  the  charge.  Tall  shields  cover  their  entire  bodies, 
and  they  wear  close-fitting  helmets,  probably  of  leather.  They  are 
marching  over  dead  bodies  (symbolical  of  the  overthrow  of  the  enemy). 
The  scene  is  carved  in  stone.  It  is  a  good  example  of  the  rude  Sume- 
rian sculpture  in  Babylonia  in  the  days  of  the  Great  Pyramid  in  Egypt 
(contrast  with  Figs.  23  and  40) 


is  the  center  of  the  town,  around  which  the  sun-baked  brick 
houses  (Fig,  38)  of  the  townsmen  spread  out  for  a  few  hun- 
dred feet.  These  houses,  of  which  only  the  foundations  now  Society 
remain,  tell  us  little  of  the  life  which  once  moved  in  these 
streets,  and  the  meager  story  is  not  enlivened  by  beautiful 
scenes  on  the  walls  of  tomb-chapels,  such  as  we  find  in  Egypt. 


64 


Outlines  of  F.uropean  History 


The  Sumerian 
city-state 


Wars  of  the 
city-states 


The  desert 
Semites  like- 
wise invade 
the  plain 


Sargon  of 
Akkad  — 
earliest 
Semitic 
supremacy 


Semites 
receive 
Sumerian 
civilization 


Hence  we  cannot  visit  the  country  and  make  its  monuments 
tell  us  its  story  as  we  have  done  in  Egypt.  The  Sumerians 
built  no  such  tombs,  nor  had  they  any  belief  in  a  blessed  here- 
after. Their  business  documents,  written  on  clay  tablets,  reveal 
to  us  a  class  of  free,  landholding  citizens,  working  their  lands 
with  slaves,  who  form  a  large  part  of  the  population,  and  trad- 
ing with  caravans  and  small  boats  up  and  down  the  river. 

Over  both  these  classes,  free  and  slave,  there  is  a  numerous 
body  of  officials  and  priests — the  aristocrats  of  the  town.  They 
are  ruled,  along  with  all  the  rest,  by  a  priest-king.  Such  a  com- 
munity, forming  a  town  or  city  kingdom  and  owning  the  lands 
for  a  few  miles  round  about  the  town,  is  the  political  unit,  or 
state.  Babylonia  as  a  whole  consisted  of  a  number  of  such 
small  city-kingdoms,  and  this  earliest  Sumerian  period  may  be 
called  the  Age  of  the  City-States.  These  early  city-states  were 
more  skilled  in  war  (Fig.  39)  than  the  Eg)^ptians  and  were  con- 
stantly fighting  each  with  its  neighbors.  Such  struggles  among 
themselves  seriously  w^eakened  the  Sumerians  and  made  them 
less  able  to  resist  the  incoming  men  of  the  desert. 

The  tribesmen  from  the  desert  had  early  begun  to  filter  into 
the  Euphrates  valley.  They  were  finally  settled  in  such  numbers 
along  the  narrow  strip  of  land  where  the  two  rivers  approach 
each  other  most  closely  that  they  took  possession  of  northern 
Babylonia.  By  the  middle  of  the  twenty-eighth  century  B.C. 
they  had  established  a  kingdom  there  known  as  Akkad.  These 
Akkadians,  under  a  bold  and  able  leader  named  Sargon,  de- 
scended the  Euphrates  and  overthrew  the  Sumerians  far  and 
wide.  Thus  arose  the  first  Semitic  kingdom  of  importance  in 
history,  and  Sargon  I,  its  founder,  is  the  first  great  name  in  the 
history  of  the  Semitic  race. 

These  one-time  wanderers  of  the  desert  learned  to  write  the 
Sumerian  wedge-writing,  and  it  was  now  that  a  Semitic  language 
was  written  for  the  first  time.  Sargon  and  his  people  gained 
Sumerian  civilization.  Their  own  vigorous  life,  fresh  as  the  breath 
of  the  desert,  also  contributed  much,  especially  in  art  (Fig.  40), 


Fig.  40.    A  King   of  Akkad    storming   a    Fortress  —  the 
Earliest  Great  Semitic  Work  of  Art  (about  2700  b.c.) 

King  Naram-Sin  of  Akkad  (son  of  Sargon  I,  p.  64)  has  pursued  the 
enemy  into  a  mountain  stronghold.  His  heroic  figure  towers  above  his 
pygmy  enemies,  each  one  of  whom  has  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  conqueror, 
awaiting  his  signal  of  mercy.  The  sculptor,  with  fine  insight,  has  depicted 
the  dramatic  instant  when  the  king  lowers  his  weapon  as  the  sign  that 
he  grants  the  conquered  their  lives.  Compare  the  superiority  of  this 
Semitic  sculpture  of  Akkad  over  the  Sumerian  art  of  two  centuries 
earher  (Fig.  39) 
65 


Mingling  of 
Sumerian 
and  Semite 


66 


Outlines  of  Ejiropean  Histoiy 


in  which  they  far  surpassed  their  Sumerian  teachers.  Thus  the 
life  and  qualities  of  the  desert  Semite  and  those  of  the  non- 
Semitic  mountaineer  now  mingle  on  the  Babylonian  plain,  as 
Norman  and  English  later  mingled  in  Merry  England.  On  the 
streets  and  in  the  market  places  of  the  Euphrates  towns,  where 


Fig.  41.   A  Semitic  Noble  axd  his  Sumerian  Secretary 
(Twenty-seventh  Century  b.c.) 

The  third  figure  (wearing  a  cap)  is  that  of  the  noble,  UbilTshtar,  who 
is  brother  of  the  king.  He  is  a  Semite,  as  his  beard  shows.  Three  of  his 
four  attendants  are  also  Semites,  with  beards  and  long  hair;  but  one  of 
them  (just  behind  the  noble)  is  beardless  and  shaven-headed.  He  is  the 
noble's  secretary,  for  being  a  Sumerian  he  is  skilled  in  writing.  His 
name  "  Kalki"  we  learn  from  the  inscription  in  the  corner,  which  reads, 
"  Ubil-Ishtar,  brother  of  the  king ;  Kalki,  the  scribe,  thy  servant."  This 
inscription  is  in  the  Semitic  (Akkadian)  tongue  of  the  time  and  illus- 
trates how  the  Semites  have  learned  the  Sumerian  signs  for  writing. 
The  scene  is  engraved  on  Kalki's  personal  seal,  of  which  the  above  is  a 
drawing.  It  is  a  fine  example  of  the  Babylonian  art  of  seal-cutting  in 
hard  stone.    The  original  is  in  the  British  Museum 


once  the  bare  feet,  clean-shaven  heads,  and  beardless  faces  of 
the  Sumerian  townsmen  were  the  only  ones  to  be  seen,  there  is 
now  a  plentiful  sprinkling  of  sandaled  feet,  of  dark  beards,  and 
of  heavy  black  locks  hanging  down  over  the  shoulders  of  the 
swarthy  Semites  of  Akkad  (Fig.  41). 


Western  Asia  :  Babylonia,  Assyria,  ajid  CJialdca     6/ 

Section   12.  The  Age  of  Hammurapi  and  after 

[jl^encuries  of  struggle  between  the  Sumerians  and  Semites   Hammu- 
ensue.    A  tribe  of  Amorites  from  the  west  (p.  59)  gains  control   second^  ^ 
of  the  little  town  of  Babylon.    Hammurapi,  one  of  their  kins's,   Semitic 

•^  ^  ^        supremacy 

fights  for  thirty  years  and  conquers  all  Babylonia  (about  2 100  b.c). 
Again  the  desert  wins,  as  this  second  great  Semitic  ruler,  Ham- 
murapi, raises  Babylon,  thus  far  a  small  and  unimportant  town, 
to  be  the  leading  place  in  the  plain  which  we  may  now  more 
properly  call  "  Babylonia." 

Hammurapi  survived  his  triumph  twelve  years.    It  is  not  a   Civilization 
little  interesting  to  watch  this  great  man,  still  betraying  in  his   Hammurapi 
shaven  upper  lip  (a  desert  custom)  the  evidence  of  his  desert 
ancestry,  as  he  puts  forth  his  powerful  hand  upon  the  teeming  life 
of  Babylonia,  and  with  a  touch  brings  in  order  and  system  where 
before  all  had  been  confusion.    He  collects  all  the  older  laws  and   The  laws  of 
customs  of  business,  legal,  and  social  life  and  issues  these  in  a       mmurapi 
great  legal  code.   Engraved  upon  a  splendid  shaft  of  diorite,  these 
laws   have  survived  to  our  day,  the  oldest-preserved  code  of 
ancient  law  (Fig.  42).   On  the  whole  it  is  a  surprisingly  just  code 
and  shows  much  consideration  for  the  poor  and  defenseless  classesTJ 

Thus  regulated,  Babylonia  prospers  as  never  before,  and  her  Expansion  of 
merchants  penetrate  far  and  wide  into  the  surrounding  countries,  commerce 
The  clay-tablet  invoices  in  Babylonian  writing  which  accompany 
their  heavily  loaded  caravans  have  to  be  read  by  many  a  merchant 
in  the  towns  of  Syria  and  behind  the  northern  mountains.  Thus 
the  wedge-writing  of  Babylonia  gradually  makes  its  way  through 
western  Asia.  There  is  as  yet  no  coined  money,  but  lumps  of 
silver  of  a  given  weight  circulate  so  commonly  (p.  98)  that  values 
are  given  in  weight  of  silver.  Thus  a  man  may  say  an  ox  is 
worth  so  many  ounces  of  silver,  only  he  would  use  "  shekels  " 
(the  name  of  a  weight)  in  place  of  ounces.  Loans  are  common, 
and  the  rate  of  interest  is  twenty  per  cent.  Babylonian  civiliza- 
tion is  above  all  things  mercantile.  Merchandising  is  the  chief 
occupation  and  even  invades  the  temples. 


68 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  temples  are  trading  centers,  owning  vast  properties,  carry- 
ing on  banking,  and  controlling  much  of  the  business  of  the 

people.  Nevertheless  there  are 
some  indications  of  higher  de- 
sires. The  ritual  of  the  temples 
contains  a  small  group  of  prayers 
which  indicate  a  deep  sense  of 
sin ;  but  the  chief  teachings  of 
religion  show  a  man  how  to 
obtain  prosperity  from  the  gods 
and  how  to  avoid  their  dis- 
pleasure. Among  such  teach- 
ings are  methods  of  foretelling 
the  future  by  reading  the  stars. 
This  art,  now  called  "  astrology," 
formed  the  beginnings  of  as- 
tronomy (p.  ^^). 

A  journey  through  Babylonia 
to-day  could  not  tell  us  such  a 

*  A  shaft  of  stone  (diorite)  nearly 
eight  feet  high,  on  which  the  laws  are 
engraved,  extending  entirely  around 
the  shaft  and  occupying  over 
twenty-six  hundred  lines.  Above  is 
a  fine  relief  showing  King  Ham- 
murapi  standing  at  the  left,  receiv- 
ing the  laws  from  the  Sun-god  seated 
at  the  right.  Hammurapi's  shaven 
upper  lip  proclaiming  him  a  man  of 
the  Syrian  desert  (p.  67)  is  here  in 
the  shadow  and  cannot  be  seen.  The 
flames  rising  from  the  god's  shoulders 
indicate  who  he  is.  The  flames  on 
the  left  shoulder  are  commonly 
shown  in  the  current  textbooks  as 
part  of  a  staff  in  the  god's  left  hand. 
Fig.  42.  The  Laws  of  Ham-  This  is  an  error.  This  scene  is  an 
MURAPI,  THE  Oldest-Surviv-  impressive  work  of  Semitic  art,  six 
ING  Code  of  Laws  (2 1 00  b.c.)*         hundred  years  later  than  Fig.  40 


Westerti  Asia :  Babylonia,  Assyria,  ajid  Clialdea  .  69 

story  as  we  read  among  the  monuments  on  our  voyage  up  the 
Nile.  To-day  the  Babylon  of  Hammurapi  has  perished  utterly. 
The  meager  remains  of  his  age  do  not  reveal  a  bright  and  sunny 
outlook  upon  life,  which  felt  deeply  the  beauty  of  the  world  and 
clothed  with  that  beauty  all  the  surroundings  of  house,  furniture, 
and  garden  (Fig.  38).  There  is  no  painting;  the  sculpture  of  Art 
the  Semites  is  in  one  instance  (Fig.  40)  powerful  and  dramatic, 
but  portraiture  is  scarcely  able  to  distinguish  one  individual  from 
another.  Of  architecture  little  remains.  There  were  no  colon- 
nades and  no  columns,  though  brick  supports  were  employed. 
The  chief  architectural  creation  is  the  temple  tower  (as  in  Fig. 
43),  but  of  the  temples  no  example  has  survived.  The  beauti- 
ful art  of  gem-cutting,  as  we  find  it  in  their  seals,  was  the  great- 
est art  of  the  Babylonians  (Fig.  41). 

We  may  summarize  the  history  of  Babylonia  as  a  thousand  Summary  of 
years  of  developing  civilization  and  of  struggle,  during  which  history"'^" 
Sumerian  and  Semite  each  rose  and  fell  twice  —  a  thousand 
years  reaching  its  highest  point  and  its  end  in  the  reign  of 
Hammurapi.  Thenceforth  the  barbarians  from  the  mountains 
poured  into  the  Babylonian  plain.  They  brought  with  them  the 
horse^  which  now  appears  for  the  first  time  in  Babylonia.  They 
divided  and  then  destroyed  the  kingdom  of  Hammurapi.  After 
him  there  followed  more  than  a  thousand  years  of  complete  stag- 
nation. Henceforth  Babylonia  plays  but  a  minor  part  in  the 
history  of  the  East,  until  in  the  seventh  century  B.C.  a  new  line 
of  desert  nomads,  the  Chaldeans  (see  p.  80),  established  that 
Empire  made  famous  by  the  name  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the 
Babylonian  captivity  of  the  Hebrews.  The  influence  of  the  ven- 
erable Babylonian  civilization  lived  on,  especially  in  writing,  re- 
ligion, and  literature.  The  old  Sumerian  tongue  —  though  no 
longer  spoken  —  was  employed  in  religious  documents  as  a 
sacred  language,  which  only  the  priests  understood,  as  Latin  has 
survived  in  the  ritual  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

1  It  was  a  few  centuries  later  that  the  horse  entered  Egypt,  as  we  have  seen 
(p.  45).    We  shall  soon  learn  (p.  90)  whence  these  Babylonian  horses  came. 


Ouilmes  of  Europe a7i  History 


Section   13.  Early  Assyria  and  her  Rivals 

The  history  of  our  great  fertile  crescent  (see  p.  58 j  did  not 
end,  however,  with  this  decline  of  Babylonia.  We  find  its  story 
continuing  among  other  settlements  of  the  desert  nomads  ex- 
tending all  along  the  shores  of  the  northern  desert-bay.  In  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  desert-bay,  in  the  days  when  Sargon  I 
and  his  line  were  ruling  in  Babylonia,  a  Hittite  chief  (Fig.  60) 
from  the  mountains  of  Asia  Minor  had  built  his  castle.  It  was 
really  a  mountain  outpost  within  the  desert-bay,  whose  rolling 
hills  enveloped  it  on  all  sides.  Seeking  the  northern  pas- 
tures, a  tribe  of  desert  nomads  who  called  themselves  Assur 
(whence  Assyria)  seized  this  stronghold  and  its  outlying  vil- 
lages. Thus  arose  the  little  kingdom  of  Assur,  like  a  dozen 
others  along  this  desert  margin.  It  was  nearer  the  middle  of 
the  great  crescent  than  Babylonia  and  held  a  position  better 
suited  to  rule  the  shores  of  the  desert-bay. 

In  climate  more  invigorating  than  the  hot  Babylonian  plain, 
Assur  had  many  fertile  valleys  and  an  agricultural  population. 
The  Assyrians  early  learned  cuneiform  writing  (p.  62),  and  their 
language  was  the  same  as  that  of  Semitic  Babylonia,  with  slight 
differences  in  dialect.  In  the  days  when  Hammurapi's  ancestors 
had  seized  Babylon  (2225  B.C.)  (p.  67),  Assur  was  already  strong 
enough  to  dispute  the  boundary  line  with  them.  Constantly 
obliged  to  defend  their  uncertain  frontiers  and  settlements,  both 
against  their  kindred  of  the  desert  and  against  the  mountaineers, 
the  Assyrians  were  toughened  by  the  strain  of  unceasing  war. 
By  HOC  B.C.  their  peasant  militia  had  beaten  the  western  kings 
in  Syria  and  looked  down  upon  the  Mediterranean,  where  the 
Egyptian  Empire  had  collapsed  two  generations  before  (p.  53). 
Thrown  back  at  this  time,  they  reached  it  again  in  the  ninth 
century  B.C.,  and  likewise  made  their  power  felt  through  a  wide 
region  of  the  northern  mountains,  around  which  they  passed  in  a 
march  of  a  thousand  miles.  At  the  same  time  the  Assyrian  kings 
more  than  once  occupied  and  ruled  Babylonia. 


Western  Asia:  Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  C/talc/ea     Ji 

Meanwhile  a  new  wave  of  Semitic  nomads  had  rolled  in  from  The  Ara- 
the  desert-bay  and  by  1 400  B.C.  occupied  its  western  shores ;  Damascus 
that  is,  Palestine  and  Syria.  These  were  the  Hebrews  in  Pales- 
tine, and  somewhat  later  the  Arameans,  who  founded  a  power- 
ful kingdom  at  Damascus.  The  expansion  of  Assyria  was  stopped 
in  the  west  by  the  Aramean  kings  of  Damascus,  who  were 
wealthy  commercial  rulers.  Indeed,  these  Arameans  persistently 
pushed  their  caravans  and  settlements  ^1  along  the  shores  of 
the  desert-bay,  and  after  the  decline  of  Babylonia  they  held  the 
commerce  of  western  Asia.  They  received  alphabetic  writing 
from  the  Phoenicians,  the  earliest  system  of  writing  known 
which  employed  only  alphabetic  signs  (p.  139).  The  Aramaic 
language  of  this  merchant  people  of  Damascus  finally  dis- 
placed that  of  the  Hebrews,  and  Aramaic  became  the  tongue 
spoken  by  Jesus  and  the  other  Hebrews  of  his  time  in  Pal- 
estine. It  is  called  Aramaic  because  it  was  spoken  by  the 
Arameans,  and  it  is  a  Semitic  dialect  differing  but  little  from 
Hebrew. 


Section   14.  The  Assyrian  Empire  (about  750 

TO    606    B.C.) 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  b.c,  however,  Assyria  Sargon  11 
resumed  her  plans  of  westward  expansion.  We  can  follow  her  °  ^^^"^ 
irresistible  western  campaigns  not  only  in  the  clay-tablet  records 
of  her  kings  but  also  in  the  warnings  and  appeals  of  the  Hebrew 
prophets,  as  they  talked  to  their  people.  But  .they  were  unable 
to  prevent  the  advance  of  the  Assyrians  as  they  beheld  Damas- 
cus, the  only  defense  between  them  and  the  armies  of  Assyria, 
slowly  giving  way.  In  the  midst  of  these  great  western  cam- 
paigns of  Assyria  one  of  the  leading  Assyrian  generals  usurped 
the  throne  (7  2  2  e.g.)  while  he  was  besieging  the  unhappy  Hebrew 
city  of  Samaria  (p.  106).  He  was  a  very  skillful  soldier,  and  as  king 
he  took  the  name  of  Sargon,  the  first  great  Semite  of  Babylonia, 
who  had  reigned  two  thousand  years  earlier  (p.  64).    The  new 


Fall  of 
Damascus 


Sennacherib 


Egypt  con- 
quered by 
Assyria 


Extent  of 
the  Assyrian 
Empire 


Nineveh 


72  Outlines  of  European  History 

Sargon  (Fig.  43)  and  his  line  ^  raised  Assyria  to  the  height  of 
her  grandeur  and  power  as  a  military  empire.  Damascus  at 
last  fell,  and  the  two  little  Hebrew  kingdoms  of  Israel  and 
Judah  were  then  helpless  before  their  terrible  assailant  (p.  1 06). 
At  the  same  time  the  prosperous  Phoenician  cities  of  the  coast 
were  all  humiliated  and  made  subject  kingdoms. 

Far  up  into  Asia  Minor  the  name  of  Sargon's  son  Sen- 
nacherib was  known  and  feared,  as  he  plundered  Tarsus  and 
the  easternmost  Ionian  Greek  strongholds  (p.  146)  just  after 
700  B.C.  A  crushing  burden  of  tribute  was  laid  on  all  subject 
states,  and  hence  Egypt,  fearing  Assyrian  invasion,  was  con- 
stantly able  to  stir  revolt  among  the  oppressed  western  peoples. 
Perceiving  that  Egypt's  interference  must  be  stopped,  Sennach- 
erib's son  was  knocking  at  the  gates  of  the  eastern  Delta  de- 
fenses by  674  B.C.  Repulsed  at  first,  he  returned  to  the  attack, 
and  Egypt  at  last  fell  a  prey  to  the  Assyrian  armies. 

By  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century  B.C.  the  Assyrian 
Empire  included  all  of  the  fertile  crescent  (p.  58).  It  thus 
extended  entirely  around  the  great  desert-bay,  including  also 
the  mountain  country  far  behind.  It  also  held  the  lower  Nile 
valley  in  the  west,  though  this  last  was  too  distant  and  detached 
to  be  kept  long.  Built  up  by  a  centur)^  of  irresistible  and  far- 
reaching  military  campaigns,  the  Assyrian  conquests  formed 
the  most  extensive  empire  the  world  had  yet  seen. 

Along  the  Tigris  the  vast  palaces  (Fig.  43)  and  imposing 
temple  towers  of  the  Assyrian  emperors  arose,  reign  after 
reign.  Sennacherib  devoted  himself  to  the  city  of  Nineveh, 
just  north  of  Assur,  and  it  became  the  far-famed  capital  of 
Assyria.  The  lofty  and  massive  walls  of  the  city  which  he  built 
stretched  two  miles  and  a  half  along  the  banks  of  the  Tigris. 
Here  in  his  gorgeous  palace  he  ruled  the  western  Asiatic  world 

1  The  dynasty  of  Sargon  II  is  as /ollows  : 

Sargon  II       722-705  b.c. 

Sennacherib 705-681  B.C. 

Esarhaddon  .     .  • 681-668  b.c 

Ashurbanipal  (called  Sardanapalus  by  the  Greeks)      .  668-626  b.c 


VVester?i  Asia :  Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  Chaldea 


/  0 


with  an  iron  hand,  and  collected  tribute  from  all  the  subject 
peoples.  The  whole  administration  centered  in  the  king's  busi- 
ness o'^ice,  where  he  received  the  letters  and  reports  of  some 


Fig.  43.    Restoration    of    the    Palace    of    Sargux    II    (jf 
Assyria  (722-705  b.c.) 

The  palace  stands  partly  inside  and  partly  outside  of  the  city  wall  on  a 
vast  elevated  platform  of  brick  masonrj^  to  which  inclined  roadways  and 
stairways  rise  from  the  inside  of  the  city  wall.  The  king  could  thus  drive 
up  in  his  chariot  from  the  streets  of  the  city  below  to  the  palace  pave- 
ment above.  The  rooms  and  halls  are  clustered  about  a  number  of  courts 
open  to  the  sky.  The  main  entrance  (with  stairs  before  it  leading  down 
to  the  city)  is  adorned  with  massive  towers  and  arched  doorways  built 
of  richly  colored  glazed  brick,  and  embellished  with  huge  human-headed 
bulls  carved  of  alabaster  (see  cut,  p.  85,  also  Figs.  44  and  45).  The 
pyramidal  tower  behind  the  great  court  was  inherited  from  Babylonia 
(p.  63).  It  is  a  sacred  dwelling  place  of  the  god,  and  his  temple  (with 
two  others)  stands  just  at  the  foot  of  the  tower  on  the  left 

sixty  governors,  besides  many  subject  kings  who  were  some-   Organization 
times  allowed  to  rule  under  Assyrian  control.    The  Emperor   Assyrian 
lived  in  dazzling  splendor,  surrounded  by  an  imposing  array   "^'I'^ary  state 
of  courtiers  and  officials  who  were  his  assistants  in  the  work 
of  administration. 


::tS.r 


Fig.  44.    Assyrian  Soldiers  pursuing   the   Fleeing  Enemy 
ACROSS  A  Stream 

The  stream  occupies  the  right  half  of  the  scene.  As  drawn  by  the 
Assyrian  artist,  it  may  be  recognized  by  the  fish  and  the  curHng  waves  ; 
also  ^y  the  bows  and  quivers  full  of  arrows  floating  downstream,  along 
with  the  bodies  of  two  dead  horses,  one  on  his  back  with  feet  up.  Two 
dead  men,  with  arrows  sticking  in  their  bodies,  are  drifting  in  mid- 
stream. Three  of  the  living  leap  from  the  bank  as  their  pursuers  stab 
them  with  spears  or  shoot  them  with  drawn  bow.  The  Assyrian  spear- 
men carry  tall  shields,  but  the  archer  needs  both  hands  for  his  bow  and 
carries  no  shield.  The  dead  are  strewn  along  the  shore,  occupying  the 
left  half  of  the  scene.  At  the  top  the  vultures  are  plucking  out  their 
eyes;  in  the  middle  an  Assyrian  is  cutting  off  a  head;  beside  him  an- 
other plants  his  foot  on  a  dead  man's  head  and  plunders  him  of  his 
weapons.  The  vegetation  along  the  river  is  shown  among  the  bodies. 
As  art,  compare  this  sculpture  with  Semitic  relief  two  thousand  years 
older  (Fig.  40  and  see  p.  77) 


74 


Weste7'n  Asia  :  Babylonia,  Assj'7'ia,  and  CJialdea      75 

Amid  this  outward  magnificence  we  discern  the  army  as  the   The  army 
center  of  the  Emperor's  power,  and  indeed  of  the  state  itself. 
The  state  is  a  vast  military  machine,  more  terrible  than  any 
such  agency  mankind  Iiad  ever  yet  seen  (Fig.  44).   An  important 
new  fact  aided  in  bringing  about  this  result.  The  Assyrian  forces   First  large 
were  the  first  large  armies  to  bear  weapons  of  iron,  replacing  weapons 
the  older  armament  of  bronze,  as  borne  for  example  by  the   0^1^°" 
armies  of  the  Egyptian  Empire  (p.  53).    A  single  arsenal  room 
of  Sargon's  palace  contained  two  hundred  tons  of  iron  imple- 
ments when  uncovered  by   modern  excavators.    The  bulk  of 
the  army  was  composed  of  archers,  supported  by  heavy-armed 
spearmen  and  shield  bearers  (Fig.  44),  and  the  famous  horsemen 
and  chariotry  of  Nineveh  (Fig.  45  and  headpiece,  p.  56). 

Besides  their  iron  weapons  the  Assyrian  soldiers  possessed  a  Terrors  of 
certain  inborn  ferocity  which  held  all  western  Asia  in  abject  army  ^^^"^'^ 
terror  before  the  thundering  squadrons  of  the  Ninevite.-^  The 
reigns  of  the  Assyrian  emperors  were  each  one  long  war  on  all 
frontiers.  Wherever  their  terrible  armies  swept  through  the 
land,  they  left  a  trail  of  ruin  and  desolation  behind.  Around 
smoking  heaps  which  had  once  been  towns,  stretched  lines  of 
tall  stakes  on  which  were  stuck  the  bodies  of  revolting  rulers 
flayed  alive ;  while  all  around  rose  mounds  and  piles  of  the 
slaughtered,  heaped  up  to  celebrate  the  great  king's  power  and 
serve  as  a  warning  to  all  revolters.  Through  clouds  of  dust 
arising  along  all  the  main  roads  of  the  Empire  the  men  of  the 
subject  kingdoms  behold  great  herds  of  cattle,  horses,  and  asses, 
flocks  of  goats  and  sheep,  and  long  lines  of  camels  loaded  with 
gold  and  silver,  the  wealth  of  the  conquered,  converging  upon 
the  palace  at  Nineveh.  Before  them  march  the  chief  men  of  the 
plundered  kingdoms,  with  the  bloody  and  severed  heads  of  their 
former  princes  tied  about  their  necks.  Thus  a  vast  and  relendess 
system  organized  for  plunder  was  absorbing  the  wealth  of  the  East. 

While  this  plundered  wealth  was  necessary  for  the  support  of 
the  army  it  also  served  high  purposes.    We  behold  magnificent 

1  See  Nahum  iii,  2-3. 


76 


0?it lines  of  European  History 


Civilization  of   palacc  fctes  and  banquets  at  which  all  the  nobles  and  officers 

Empir?"^"    of  the  court  are  present,  to  celebrate  the  completion  of  some 

huge  royal  castle ;   or  we   see  the   Emperor  amid  music  and 

sacrifice  receiving  the  good  wishes  of  his  lords  as  he  returns 

Architecture     from  a  succcssful  lion  hunt  (Fig.  45).    The  Assyrian  palaces 

are  now  imposing  buildings  (Fig.  43),  suggesting  in  architecture 


Fig.  45.   Ax  Assyrian  King  hunting  Lions 

The  king  stands  in  the  chariot,  and  while  his  driver  urges  the  horses 
(notice  loose  reins  and  whip)  at  full  gallop,  he  draws  his  bow  to  the 
arrowhead  and  discharges  arrows  full  into  the  face  of  an  enraged  lion 
just  leaping  into  the  chariot.  Three  foot  soldiers  follow  behind,  and  an- 
other lion  with  body  full  of  arrows  sinks  down  to  die.  A  fine  example 
of  the  Assyrian  sculptor's  skill  in  drawing  animals.  Such  scenes  as  this 
and  Fig.  44  (also  cut,  p.  85)  were  carved  on  large  slabs  of  stone  (ala- 
baster) and  in  long  bands  they  stretched  along  the  base  of  the  walls  of 
halls  and  corridors  of  an  Assyrian  palace  (Fig.  43)  for  hundreds  of  feet. 
They  display  both  the  art  of  Assyria  and  the  terrible  ferocity  of  her 
soldiers  (Fig.  44  and  p.  77) 

something  of  the  far-reaching  power  of  their  builder.  His  archi- 
tects appreciate  the  beauty  of  the  arch,  and  we  must  number 
among  great  works  of  architecture  the  impressive  arches  of  the 
palace  entrance,  faced  with  glazed  brick  in  gorgeous  colors  (cut, 
p.  86).  On  either  side  are  vast  human-headed  bulls  wrought  in 
alabaster,^  and  above  the  whole  tower  lofty  castellated  walls  of 
baked  brick,  visible  far  across  the  royal  city. 


1  One  of  these  gigantic  sculptures  may  be  seen  at  the  end  of  Chapter  III 
(p.  85). 


Western  Asia:  Babylonia^  Assyria,  ajid  Chaldea     'J J 

Within,  as  a  dado  along  the  lower  portion  of  the  walls  of  Sculpture 
corridors  and  halls,  are  hundreds  of  yards  of  reliefs  ^  cut  in  ala- 
baster, displaying  the  brave  deeds  of  the  Emperor  in  campaign 
and  hunting  field  (Figs.  44,  45).  The  human  figures  are  monot- 
onously alike,  hard  and  cold,  but  those  of  wild  beasts  are  some- 
times splendid  in  the  abandon  of  animal  ferocity  which  they 
display.  The  tiger  was  in  the  blood  of  the  Assyrian  and  it 
here  comes  out  in  the  work  of  his  chisel.  There  was  no  art  of 
portraiture  in  statue  form  as  in  Egypt. 

To  be  sure,  these  great  works  were  largely  executed  by  foreign  Assyrian 
labor,  for  the  emperors  w^ere  obliged  to  depend  not  a  little  on  fr^'iJJ'abroad 
foreign  skill  both  in  art  and  industries.  With  one  exception  all 
the  patterns  of  their  decorative  art  came  from  Egypt,  and  the 
finer  work  of  their  palace  adornment  and  their  furniture  in 
ebony  and  ivory  clearly  betray  Egyptian  origin.  The  art  of 
glazing  the  colored  brick  for  the  palace  front,  and  all  work  in 
glass  likewise,  had  been  borrowed  from  Egypt  (Fig.  48).  Sen- 
nacherib frankly  confesses  that  his  craftsmen  were  very  unskilled 
in  making  large  bronze  casts  needed  for  his  palace  in  Nineveh, 
and  boasts  that  he  himself  personally  overcame  the  difficulties. 
It  is  in  this  ability  to  use  foreign  resources  that  we  must  rec- 
ognize one  of  the  greatest  traits  of  the  Assyrian  emperors. 
Thus  Sennacherib  tells  us  that  he  had  in  his  palace  "  a  portal 
made  after  the  model  of  a  Hittite  palace." 

In  the  great  gardens  which  he  laid  out  along  the  river  above   Palace 
and  below  Nineveh  he  planted  unknown  trees  and  strange  plants   ^^^ 
from  all  quarters  of  his  great  empire.   Among  them  were  cotton   Earliest 
trees,-  of  which  he  says,  "  The  trees  that  bore  wool  they  clipped 
and  they  carded  it  for  garments."     In  this  enterprise  of    an 
Assyrian  king  we  thus  see  appearing  for  the  first  time  in  civili- 
zation the  cotton  which  now  furnishes  so  large  a  part  of  our 
own  national  wealth.    Nor  was  such  insight  as  the  king  showed 

J  A  further  example  of  such  relief  sculpture  of  the  Assyrians  shows  us 
Assyrian  horsemen  hunting.    See  the  headpiece  of  Chapter  III  (p.  56). 

2  This  cotton  tree  was  doubtless  related  to  the  lower-growing  cotton  plant  of 
our  Southern  states. 


78 


Outliiics  of  European  History 


Ashurbani- 
pal's  library 


Assyrian 
civilization 
not  a  mere 
echo  of 
Babylonia 

The  fall  of 
Assyria 

Internal 
decay 


Economic 
decline 


in  this  matter  wholly  devoted  to  mere  wealth,  for  higher  inter- 
ests were  also  cultivated  and  literature  flourished. 

Modern  excavation  has  uncovered  the  buildings  of  Ashurbani- 
pal,  Sennacherib's  grandson  at  Nineveh,  and  here  was  found  a 
great  library  of  clay  tablets.  In  this  library  the  religious,  scien- 
tific, and  literary  documents  of  past  ages  had  been  systematically 
collected  by  the  Emperor's  orders.  His  agents  passed  around 
among  the  ancient  cities  with  authorization  to  take  all  the  old 
writings  they  could  find.  These  thousands  on  thousands  of  clay 
tablets  arrayed  on  shelves  formed  the  earliest  library  known  in 
Asia,  and  represented  an  idea  quite  in  advance  of  Babylonian 
civilization  described  above.  The  usual  impression  that  Assyr- 
ian civilization  was  but  an  echo  of  Babylonian  culture  is  very 
misleading.  The  Assyrians  were  far  more  advanced  in  these 
matters  than  the  Babylonians. 

Like  many  another  later  ruler,  however,  the  Assyrian  em- 
perors made  a  profound  mistake  in  policy.  They  destroyed  the 
industrial  and  wealth-producing  population,  first  within  their  own 
territory  and  then  throughout  the  subject  kingdoms.^  In  spite 
of  interest  in  introducing  a  new  textile  like  cotton,  the  Emperor 
did  not  or  could  not  build  up  industries  or  commerce  like  those 
of  Babylonia.  The  people  were  chiefly  agricultural,  and  in  the 
old  days  it  had  sufficed  to  call  out  levies  of  peasant  militia  to 
defend  the  frontiers.  With  the  expansion  of  the  Empire,  how- 
ever, such  temporary  bodies  of  troops  were  insufficient,  and  the 
peasants  \m^xq  pennanently  called  away  from  the  fields  to  fill  the 
ranks  of  an  ever-growing  standing  army.  We  discern  disused 
canals  and  idle  fields  as  we  read  of  Sargon's  efforts  to  re- 
store the  old  farming  communities.  But  even  so  the  vast  expan- 
sion of  the  Empire  exceeds  the  power  of  the  standing  army  to 


1  The  fact  that  industries,  agriculture,  commerce,  and  wealth  are  historical 
forces  of  the  first  rank  was  first  discerned  by  historians  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. The  importance  of  these  things  in  the  career  of  a  nation,  however,  was 
understood  by  some  rulers  as  far  back  as  the  Egyptian  Empire.  It  is  therefore 
the  more  remarkable  that  historians  should  have  been  so  long  in  discovering  the 
power  of  such  forces, 


• 


assaults  from 
without 


Western  Asia  :  Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  CJialdea     79 

defend  it.  As  reports  of  new  revolts  come  in  the  harassed  ruler  Foreign 
at  Nineveh  commands  the  enforced  service  of  militia  from  among  the  army 
the  subjects  of  the  foreign  vassal  kingdoms.  To  a  larger  and 
larger  degree  the  imperial  army  thus  becomes  a  medley  of  for- 
eigners. With  an  army  made  up  of  foreigners  to  a  dangerous 
extent,  with  no  industries,  wdth  fields  lying  idle,  and  with  the 
commerce  of  the  country  in  the  hands  of  the  Aramean  traders 
(p.  71),  the  Assyrian  state  fast  loses  its  inner  strength. 

In  addition  to  such  weakness  within,  there  were  the  most  Fall  of 
threatening  dangers  from  without.  These  came,  as  of  old,  from  assauUs 
both  sides  of  the  fertile  crescent.  Drifting  in  from  the  desert,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  Aramean  hordes  were  constantly  absorbing 
the  territory  of  the  Empire.  Sennacherib  in  one  campaign  took 
over  two  hundred  thousand  captives  out  of  Babylonia,  mostly 
Arameans.  At  the  same  time  another  desert  tribe  called  the 
"  Kaldi,"  whom  we  know  as  the  Chaldeans,  had  been  for  cen-  Chaldeans 
turies  creeping  slowly  around  the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf  and 
settling  along  its  shores  at  the  foot  of  the  eastern  mountains. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  northern  mountains  the  advancing   indo- 
hordes  of  Indo-European  peoples  are  in  full  view  (see  pp.  86  ff.).   peoples : 
Their  eastern  wing,  which  has  moved  down  the  east  side  of  ^rlTsT^hians 
the  Caspian,  fills  the  northeastern  mountains,  especially  south  of 
the  Caspian ;   its  leaders  are  the  tribes  of  the  Medes  and  Per-   Medes  and 

Pcrsi3.ris 

sians  (see  p.  92).    These  movements  shake  the  Assyrian  state 

to  its  foundations.    The  Chaldeans  master  Babylonia,  and  when 

in  combination  with  the  Median  hosts  from  the  northeastern 

mountains  they  assail  the  walls  of  Nineveh,  the  mighty  city  falls.    Destruction 

In  the  voice  of  the  Hebrew  prophet  Nahum^  we  hear  an  echo  of 

the  exulting  shout  which  resounds  from  the  Caspian  to  the  Nile 

as  the  nations  discover  that  the  terrible  scourge  of  the  East  has  at 

last  been  laid  low.   Its  fall  was  forever,  and  when  two  centuries 

later  Xenophon  and  his  ten  thousand  Greeks  marched  past  the 

place  (p.  211)  the  Assyrian  nation  was  but  a  vague  tradition,  and 

Nineveh,  its  great  city,  was  a  vast  heap  of  rubbish  as  it  is  to-day. 

1  Especially  ii,  8-13,  and  iii  entire. 


8o 


Outlines  of  Eiuvpcaii  History 


Section   15.  The  Chaldean  Empire:  the  Last 
Semitic  Empire 


Chaldeans 
and  Medes 
divide  the 
Assyrian 
Empire 


Nebuchad- 
nezzar de- 
feats Eg}'pt 

Reign  of 
Nebuchad- 


With  the  fall  of  Nineveh  (606  B.C.)  we  enter  upon  the  third 
and  final  period  of  Semite  power  in  western  Asia^ — a  power 
which  had  begun  over  two  thousand  years  earlier  under  Sargon 
of  Akkad.  The  Kaldi,  or  Chaldeans,  the  new  group  of  desert 
wanderers,  now  held  possession  of  Babylonia.  They  made 
Babylon  their  capital  and  gave  their  name  to  the  land,  so  that 
we  now  know  it  as  "  Chaldea  "  (from  Kaldi).  The  whole  moun- 
tain region  of  the  north  and  on  the  east  of  the  Tigris  was  at 
the  same  time  in  possession  of  the  Medes  (p.  93).  The  Chal- 
deans were  therefore  obliged  to  divide  the  Assyrian  Empire 
with  the  Medes,  and  the  Chaldean  share  was  the  south  and 
west.  But  in  order  to  hold  their  western  possessions  the  Chal- 
deans were  obliged  to  fight  Eg}'pt.  The  Chaldean  crown  prince 
Nebuchadnezzar  ^  beat  off  Eg)^pt,  and  thus  Assyria  was  followed 
by  Chaldean  Babylon  as  lord  of  Syria  and  Palestine  (605  B.C.). 

At  Babylon  Nebuchadnezzar  now  began  a  reign  of  over  forty 
years  —  a  reign  of  such  power  and  magnificence,  especially  as 
reflected  to  us  in  the  Bible,  that  he  has  become  one  of  the  great 
figures  of  oriental  history.  Exasperated  by  the  obstinate  revolts 
prompted  by  Egypt  in  the  west,  Nebuchadnezzar  punished  the 
western  nations,  especially  the  little  Hebrew  kingdom  of  Judah. 
He  finally  carried  away  many  Hebrews  as  captives  to  Babylonia 
and  destroyed  Jerusalem,  their  capital  (586  B.C.),  having  pre- 
viously defeated  the  Eg}'ptian  army  of  relief,  on  which  the 
Hebrews  had  depended. 


1  The  three  great  ages  of  Semite  power  in  western  Asia  are  : 

1.  Early  Babylonia  (Sargon  I  about  2750  b.c,  Hammurapi  about  2100  B.C. ; 
there  was  an  interval  of  Sumerian  power  between  these  two  great  Semitic  kings). 

2.  The  Assyrian  Empire  (about  750  to  606  b.c). 

3.  The  Chaldean  Empire  (about  606  to  539  b.c). 

We  might  add  zfoiirih  period  of  Semite  supremacy,  the  triumph  of  Islam  in 
the  seventh  century  a.d.,  after  the  death  of  Mohammed  (sections  58-59). 

2  The  monuments  show  that  the  real  spelling  of  this  name  was  "  Nebuchad- 
rezzar," but  to  avoid  confusion  the  old  Biblical  spelling  has  been  retained. 


Boundaries  of  Persian  Empire 

Boundaries  of  Alexander's  Empire 

— * -Route  of  Alexander 

SCALE 
0     50  100         200         300        400         600  miles 


CHALDEAIs  I 
MEDO-PEKSI  ^ 

A>D  CONQUESTS  OF  ALl  i! 


Longitude       45      East  r? 


Trop 

IMPIRE 
i  E3IPIKE 

XDER  THE  GREAT 

Dm      50      Greenwich  55 


Western  Asia:  Babylonia,  Assyiia,  and  Chaldea     8 1 

In  spite  of  long  and  serious  wars  the  great  king  found  time   Civilization 
and  wealth  to  devote  to  the  enlargement  and  beautification  of   Babylon  Hts 
Babylon.    Profiting  by  the  example  of  the  imperial  architecture   magnificent 
which  had  once  adorned  Nineveh  (p.  76),  Nebuchadnezzar  was 
able  to  surpass  his  Assyrian  predecessors  in  the  splendor  of  the 
great  buildings  which  he   now  erected.     In  the  large  temple 
quarter  in  the  south  of  the  city  he  rebuilt  the  temples  of  the 


Fig.  46.    Reconstruction   of  a  Temple  of  Babylon  in  the 
Chaldean  Empire.    (After  Koldewey) 

The  building  was  of  sun-baked  brick  ;  as  the  dwelling  of  a  god,  it  shows 
the  same  architecture  as  the  dwelling  of  man,  and  there  was  no  advance 
over  the  architecture  of  the  old  Babylonian  house  (Fig.  38)  of  two 
thousand  years  earlier.  In  contrast  with  the  Egyptian  temples,  it  em- 
ployed the  arch  over  all  doors  and  contained  no  colonnades.  No  such 
temple  now  stands  in  Babylon,  and  the  drawing  is  a  restoration 

long-revered  Babylonian  divinities  (Fig.  46).  Leading  from  these 
to  the  palace  he  laid  out  a  festival  avenue^  which  passed  through 
an  imposing  gateway  called  the  "  Gate  of  Ishtar  "  (Fig.  47),  for 
it  was  dedicated  to  this  goddess.  Behind  it  lay  the  vast  imperial 
palace  and  the  offices  of  government,  while  high  over  all  towered 
the  temple-mount  which  rose  by  the  Marduk  temple  as  a  veri- 
table "  Tower  of  Babel  "  (see  p.  63).  Masses  of  rich  tropical 
verdure,  rising  in  terrace  upon  terrace,  forming  a  lofty  garden, 

1  A'lion  of  brilliant  blue-glazed  brick,  discovered  by  the  Germans  in  the  Festi- 
val Street  of  Nebuchadnezzar  at  Babylon,  will  be  found  at  the  head  of  Chapter 
IV  (p.  86). 

I 


82 


Outlines  of  Europcaji  History 


r; 


crowned  the  roof  of  the  imperial  palace  and,  overlooking  the 
Ishtar  Gate,  enhanced  the  brightness  of  its  colors.    Here  in 

the  cool  shade  of  palms  and 
ferns,  inviting  to  voluptuous 
ease,  the  great  king  might 
enjoy  an  idle  hour  with  the 
ladies  of  his  court  and  look 
down  upon  the  splendors  of 
his  city.  These  roof  gardens 
of  Nebuchadnezzar's  palace 
are  the  mysterious  "  Hang- 
ing Gardens  "  of  Babylon, 
whose  fame  spread  far  into 
the  west  until  they  were 
numbered  by  the  Greeks 
among  the  Seven  Wonders 
of  the  World. 

It  is  this  Babylon  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar whose  marvels 
over  a  century  later  so  im- 
pressed Herodotus  (p.  i88), 
as  is  shown  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  it  which  he  has  left 
us.  This,  too,  is  the  Babylon 
which  has  become  familiar 
to  all  Christian  peoples  as 
the  great  city  of  the  Hebrew 
captivity  (p.  107).  Of  all  the 
glories  which  made  it  world 
renowned  in  its  time,  little 
now  remains.  The  excava- 
tions of  the  Germans,  who 
have  been  uncovering  the 
city  since  1899,  are  slowly 
revealing  one  building  after 


Fig.  47.  The  Ishtar  Gate  of  the 

Palace  Quarter  of  Babylon  in 

THE    Chaldean    Empire   (Sixth 

Century  b.c.) 

This  gate,  recently  excavated  by  the 
Germans,  is  the  most  important  build- 
ing still  standing  in  Babylon.  It  is  not 
a  restoration  like  Fig.  46.  The  towers 
rising  on  either  side  of  the  gate  are 
adorned  with  the  figures  of  animals 
(see  cut,  p.  86)  in  splendidly  colored 
glazed  tile,  as  used  also  in  the  Assyrian 
palaces  (Fig.  43).  Behind  this  gate 
rose  the  sumptuous  palace  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, crowned  by  the  beautiful 
roof  gardens  known  as  the  "  Hanging 
Gardens  "  of  Babylon  (p.  82) 


Western  Asia :  Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  CJialdca     8 


another,  the  scanty  wreckage  of  the  ages.    To  them  we  owe  the 
recovery  of  the  Festival  Street  and  the  Ishtar  Gate  (Fig.  47),  but 
the  Ishrar  Gate  is  prac- 
tically the   only   build-  ^^^^  W^^') 
ing  in  all  Babylonia  of 
which   any   impressive 
remains  survive.    Else- 
where the  broken  frag- 
ments of  dingy  sun-baked 
brick     walls      suggest 
little    of    the    brilliant 
life  which  once  ebbed 
and     flowed     through 
these  streets  and  public 
places. 

The  Chaldeans  seem 
to  have  absorbed  the 
civilization  of  Babylonia 
in  much  the  same  way 
as  other  earlier  Semitic 
invaders  of  this  ancient 
plain.  Commerce  and 
business  flourished,  the 
arts  and  industries  were 
highly  developed,  re- 
ligion and  literature 
were  cultivated  and 
their  records  were  put 
into  wedge-writing  on 
clay  tablets  as  of  old. 
Science  made   notable 


Fig.  48.  Glass  of  the  Sixth  Century 
B.C.  FouxD  IN  Chaldean  Babylon 


The  art  of  glazing  and  glassmaking,  so 
extensively  used  in  adorning  Assyrian  and 
Chaldean  buildings,  was  not  native  to  Asia, 
but  arose  far  earlier  on  the  Nile  (see  p.  36, 
and  cut,  p.  16).  Thus,  for  example,  the  glass 
bottle  shown  here  is  of  a  shape  and  pattern 
borrowed  by  the  Babylonians  from  Egypt. 
At  this  time  exactly  the  same  pattern  of 
bottle  was  being  used  also  in  north  Italy, 
which  likewise  received  it  from  Egypt 
progress  in  one  impor- 
tant branch  —  astronomy.  Still  with  the  practical  purpose  of 
reading  the  future  rather  than  of  furthering  science,  the  Baby- 
lonians continued  the  ancient  art  of  discovering,  the  future  in 


84 


Outlijics  of  EiLT'opeaii  History 


the  heavenly  bodies  (see  p.  68).  The  art  was  now  very  syste- 
matically pursued  and  was  really  becoming  astronomy.  The 
equator  was  divided  into  360  degrees,  and  for  the  first  time 
they  laid  out  and  mapped  the  twelve  groups  of  stars  which  we 
call  the  "  Twelve  Signs  of  the  Zodiac."  Thus  for  the  first  time 
the  sky  and  its  worlds  were  mapped  out  into  a  system. 

The  five  planets  then  known  (Mercury,  Venus,  Mars,  Jupiter, 
and  Saturn)  were  especially  regarded  as  the  powers  controlling  the 
fortunes  of  men,  and  as  such  the  five  leading  Babylonian  divinities 
were  identified  with  these  five  heavenly  bodies.  It  is  the  names  of 
these  Babylonian  divinities  which,  in  Roman  translation,  have  de- 
scended to  us  as  the  names  of  these  five  planets.  So  the  planet  of 
Ishtar,  the  goddess  of  love,  became  Venus,  while  that  of  the  great 
god  Marduk  became  Jupiter,  and  so  on.  The  celestial  observations 
made  by  these  Chaldean  "astrologers,"  as  we  call  them,  slowly  be- 
came sufficiently  accurate,  so  that  when  inherited  by  the  Greeks 
they  formed  the  basis  of  the  science  of  astronomy,  which  the 
Greeks  carried  so  much  further  (p.  162).  The  practice  of  "  astrol- 
ogy" has  survived  to  our  own  day;  we  still  unconsciously  recall  it  in 
such  phrases  as  "  his  lucky  star  "  or  an  "  ill-starred  undertaking." 

This  Chaldean  age  is  in  many  respects,  an  effort  to  restore 
the  civilization  of  the  earlier  Babylonia  of  Hammurapi's  day  (pp. 
67-69).  The  scribes  now  love  to  employ  an  ancient  style  of  writ- 
ing and  out-of-date  forms  of  speech  ;  the  kings  tunnel  deep  under 
the  temple  foundations  and  search  for  years  that  they  may  find 
the  old  foundation  records  buried  (like  our  corner-stone  docu- 
ments) by  kings  of  ancient  days.  Likewise  in  Egypt  and  among 
the  Hebrews,  as  well  as  in  Babylonia,  the  men  of  the  East  are 
deeply  conscious  of  the  distant  past  through  which  their  ancestors 
have  come  down  through  the  ages.  The  oriental  world  is  grow- 
ing old,  and  men  are  looking  back  upon  her  far-away  youth  with 
wistful  endeavors  to  restore  it  to  the  earth  again.  Indeed,  the 
leadership  of  the  Semitic  peoples  in  the  early  world  is  drawing 
near  its  close,  and  they  are  about  to  give  way  before  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Indo-European  race,  to  which  we  must  now  turn. 


iVesttnt  Asia  :  Ihibyloiiia,  Assyria^  and  Chaldea     85 


QUESTIONS 

Section  10.  Give  the  water  boundaries  of  westernmost  Asia. 
Where  do  desert  and  mountains  chiefly  lie  ?  What  hes  between  them  ? 
Summarize  the  history  of  the  fertile  crescent.  Make  a  sketch  map 
showing  its  situation.   What  land  occupied  its  east  end  }  its  west  end  .^ 

What  is  a  '^  nomad  "  1  Mention  some  Semitic  peoples.  Whither 
does  the  wandering  desert  tribe  often  shift  ?  Do  you  recall  any  Sem- 
ites who  have  so  shifted.?  Describe  the  nomads'  life;  their  religion. 
Describe  the  Babylonian  plain,  giving  size,  climate,  and  products. 

Sfxtiox  II.  Describe  Sumerian  civilization  and  invasion  of  the 
Babylonian  plain.   W^hat  do  we  call  the  earliest  age  of  Sumerian  history.? 

Who  were  the  earliest  Semites  in  Babylonia  ?  Give  an  account  of 
their  first  great  leader.  How  did  these  Semites  gain  their  earliest 
civilization,  for  example,  writing  ?   Did  Sumerian  and  Semite  mingle  ? 

Section  i  2.  Who  was  Hammurapi .?  Give  an  account  of  his  laws. 
Describe  Babylonian  commerce  in  his  age.  How  can  we  summarize 
Babylonian  history .? 

Section  13.  Locate  Assyria  on  the  fertile  crescent.  Whence  did  its 
people  receive  their  civilization .?  What  stopped  early  Assyrian  expan- 
sion westward  ?   Who  were  the  Arameans  ?  W^here  was  their  capital  1 

Section  14.  What  did  the  Assyrian  Empire  at  its  largest  chiefly 
include  .?  Describe  the  Assyrian  state  ;  the  army.  Give  some  account 
of  Assyrian  civilization.    Outline  the  causes  of  the  fall  of  Assyria. 

Section  15.  Who  were  the  Chaldeans.?  Who  were  the  Medes.? 
How  did  they  divide  the  East  between  them.?  Describe  Chaldean 
Babylon  ;  its  chief  buildings.    Discuss  Chaldean  astronomy. 


':'M 


■mm  .m'miwmmm  j 


imhiitnm»itiiiiuiuiiintm'vaaun\u\ 


CHAPTER  IV 

WESTERN  ASIA:    THE  MEDO-PERSIAN  EMPIRE, 
THE  HEBREWS 

Section  i6.  The  Indo-European  Peoples  and 
THEIR  Dispersion  ^ 

We  have  seen  that  the  Arabian  desert  has  been  a  great  reser- 
voir of  unsettled  population,  which  was  continually  leaving  the 
grasslands  on  the  margin  of  the  desert  and  shifting  over  into  the 
towns  to  begin  a  settled  life  (pp.  57  f.).  Corresponding  to  these 
grasslands  of  the  so/it/i,  there  are  similar  grasslands  in  the  norf/i 
(Fig.  49),  behind  the  mountains  of  western  Asia  and  southern 
Europe  (see  map,  p.  80).  These  northern  grasslands  stretch 
from  central  Europe,  behind  the  Balkans,  eastward  along  the 
north  side  of  the  Black  Sea  through  southern  Russia  and  far 
into  Asia  north  and  east  of  the  Caspian.  They  have  always 
had  a  wandering  shepherd  population,  and  time  after  time,  for 

1  Section  i6  deals  with  a  series  of  racial  movements  which  anticipate  a  large 
part  of  ancient  history.  They  are  at  first  not  easy  for  a  young  student  to  visual- 
ize. They  should  therefore  be  carefully  worked  over  by  the  teacher  with  the 
class  before  the  class  is  permitted  to  study  this  section  alone.  The  diagram 
(Fig.  49)  should  be  put  on  the  blackboard  and  explained  in  detail  by  the  teacher, 
and  the  class  should  then  be  prepared  to  put  the  diagram  on  the  board  from 
memory.  This  should  be  done  again  when  the  study  of  the  Greeks  is  begun 
(p.  123),  and  a  third  time  when  Italy  and  the  Romans  are  taken  up. 

86 


Western  Asia:    The  Me  do-Persian  Empire  8/ 

thousands  of  years,  these  northern  nomads  have  poured  forth 
over  Europe  and  western  Asia,  just  as  the  desert  Semites  of 
the  south  have  done  over  the  fertile  crescent  (pp.  59  ff.). 

These  nomads  of  the  north  were  from  the  earliest  times  a  The  two 
great  white  race,  which  we  call  Indo-European.   We  can  perhaps   Eu^ropean  °" 
best  explain  this  term  by  saying  that  the  present  peoples  of  ^"^  Semitic 
Europe  are  almost  all  Indo-European,  and  as  most  of  us  are  of 
the  same  stock  their  ancestors  were  also  ours,  as  we  shall  see. 
These  nomads  of  the  northern  grasslands,  our  ancestors,  began 
to  migrate  in  very  ancient  times,  moving  out  along  diverging 
routes.    They  at  last  extended  in  an  imposing  line  from  the 
frontiers  of  India  on  the  east,  westward  across  all  Europe  to  the 
Atlantic,  as  they  do  to-day  (Fig.  49).  This  great  northern  line  was 
confronted  on  the  south  by  a  similar  line  of  Semitic  peoples, 
extending  from  Babylonia  on  the  east,  through  Phoenicia  and  the 
Hebrews  westward  to  Carthage  and  similar  Semitic  settlements 
of  Phoenicia  in  the  western  Mediterranean. 

The  history  of  the  ancient  world,  as  we  are  now  to  follow  it, 
is  largely  made  up  of  the  struggle  between  this  sontherii  Semitic 
line  which  issued  from  the  southern  grasslands,  and  the  fiorthern 
Indo-Eiu'opean  line  which  came  forth  from  the  northern  grass- 
lands to  confront  the  older  civilizations  represented  in  the  south- 
ern line.  Thus  as  we  look  at  the  diagram  (Fig.  49)  we  see  the 
two  great  races  facing  each  other  across  the  Mediterranean  like 
two  vast  armies  stretching  from  western  Asia  westward  to 
the  Atlantic.  The  later  wars  between  Rome  and  Carthage 
(pp.  258  ff.)  represent  some  of  the  operations  on  the  Semitic 
left  wing;  while  the  triumph  of  Persia  over  Chaldea  (p.  97)  is 
a  similar  outcome  on  the  Semitic  right  wing. 

The  result  of  the  imposing  struggle  was  the  complete  triumph   Triumph  of 
of  our  ancestors,  the  Indo-European  line,  which  conquered  along  g^d  ^^^"^^^^ 
the  center  and  both  wings  and  gained  unchallenged  supremacy   Jj'^  ^"'^^" 
throughout  the   Mediterranean  world   under  the   Greeks   and   line 
Romans  (pp.  123  ff.).   This  triumph  was  accompanied  by  a  long 
struggle  for  the  mastery  between  the  members  of  the  northern 


88  Outlines  of  European  History 

line  themselves,  as   first   the  Persians,  then   the   Greeks,  and 

finally  the  Romans,  gained  control  of  the  Mediterranean  and 

oriental  world.    The  great  civilized  peoples  of  Europe  at  the 

present  day  are,  as  we  have  said,  the  offspring  of  the  victorious 

Indo-European  line.   These  Indo-European  peoples  are  also  the 

forefathers  of  the  American  colonists,  who  with  later  immigrants 

now  make  up  the  people  of  the  United  States.-^ 

The  indo-  Let  US  now  turn  back  to  a  time  before  the  Indo-European 

parerSi?eople   People  had  left  their  grasslands  and  see  if  we  can  find  their 

and  their  ong-  original  home.    Modern  study  has  not  vet  determined  with  cer- 

inal  home  °  _  -^  ^ 

tainty  the  exact  region  where  the  parent  people  of  the  Indo- 
European  nomads  had  their  home.  The  indications  now  are 
that  this  original  home  was  on  the  great  grassy  steppe  in  the 
region  east  and  northeast  of  the  Caspian  Sea.^  Here,  then, 
probably  lived  the  parent  people  of  all  the  later  Indo-European 
race.  At  the  time  when  they  were  still  one  people,  they  were 
speaking  one  and  the  same  tongue.  From  this  tongue  have 
descended  all  the  languages  later  spoken  by  the  civilized  peoples 
of  modern  Europe,  including,  of  course,  our  own  English,  as  we 
shall  see. 

The  parent  people  were  still  in  the  Stone  Age  for  the  most 
part,  though  copper  was  beginning  to  come  in,  and  the  time 


1  Although  our  Indo-European  ancestors  gained  full  control  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean world,  we  shall  find  that  the  final  result  was  nevertheless  a  mixed  civil- 
ization, containing  many  things  of  Semitic  and  oriental  origin.  Especially  was 
this  true  in  religion,  for  the  great  religions  of  the  modem  world,  especially 
Christianity,  are  of  oriental  origin. 

2  There  has  been  great  difference  of  opinion  regarding  the  original  home  of 
this  parent  people,  from  whom  we  ourselves  have  descended.  The  whole  ques- 
tion was  opened  only  fifty  years  ago,  when  scholars  mostly  maintained  that  the 
central  Asiatic  plateau  was  the  earliest  home  of  the  parent  people.  Later  re- 
searches led  most  scholars  to  believe  in  a  central  or  northern  European  home  of 
these  people.  This  is  still  the  prevailing  opinion.  But  the  recent  discovery  of 
documents  in  the  Tokhar  language,  spoken  by  the  tribes  of  old  Tokharistan 
along  the  upper  valley  of  the  Jaxartes  River  far  east  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  has 
shown  that  Tokhar  was  an  Indo-European  language.  This  discovery  of  an  Indo- 
European  language  so  far  east  has  made  the  theorv  of  a  European  home  of  the 
parent  people  almost  impossible  and  an  Asiatic  home  much  more  probable.  Its 
exact  situation  in  Asia  is,  however,  still  uncertain. 


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Outlines  of  ILnropcan  History 


must  therefore  have  been  not  later  than  2500  B.C.  Divided 
into  numerous  tribes,  they  wandered  at  will,  seeking  pasture 
for  their  flocks,  for  they  already  possessed  domestic  animals, 
including  cattle  and  sheep.  But  chief  among  their  domesticated 
beasts  was  the  ho7'se,  which,  as  we  recall,  was  still  entirely  un- 
known to  the  civilized  oriental  nations  until  after  Hammurapi's 
time  (see  p.  69).  They  employed  him  not  only  for  riding  but 
also  for  drawing  their  wheeled  carts,  and  from  these  northern 
nomads  has  descended  the  widespread  story  of  the  chariot  and 
the  horses  of  the  sun.  The  ox  already  bore  the  yoke  and  drew 
the  plow,  for  some  of  the  tribes  had  adopted  a  settled  mode  of 
life  and  possessed  fields  in  which  they  cultivated  grain,  especially 
barley.  Being  without  writing,  they  possessed  but  little  govern- 
ment and  organization.  But  they  were  the  most  gifted  and  the 
most  highly  imaginative  people  of  the  ancient  world. 

As  their  tribes  wandered  farther  and  farther  apart  they  lost 
contact  with  each  other.  Local  peculiarities  in  speech  and  cus- 
toms became  more  and  more  marked,  until  wide  differences 
resulted.  While  at  first  the  different  groups  could  doubtless 
understand  one  another  when  they  met,  these  differences  in 
speech  gradually  became  so  great  that  the  widely  scattered 
tribes,  even  if  they  happened  to  meet,  could  no  longer  make 
themselves  understood,  and  finally  all  knowledge  of  their  origi- 
nal kinship  was  totally  lost.  This  kinship  has  only  been  redis- 
covered in  very  recent  times.  The  final  outcome,  in  so  far  as 
speech  was  concerned,  was  the  languages  of  modern  civilized 
Europe ;  so  that,  beginning  with  England,  we  can  trace  many  a 
word  from  people  to  people  entirely  across  Europe  and  east- 
ward into  northern  India.    Note  the  following : 


English    German    Latin    Greek 


Old  Persian 
and  AvESTAN 


brother   bruder  frater  phrater      brata 
mother  -mutter  m.ater  meter  matar 

father      vater      pater    pater  pitar 


TOKHAR 

(in  Central  Asia) 
(See  footnote,  p.  88) 

pracar 
macar 
pacar 


East  Indian 
(Sanskrit) 

bhrata 

mata 

pita 


Western  Asia:    The  Me  do- Persian  Ejupire         91 

In  the  west  these  wanderers  from  the  northern  grasslands  had 
alread}'  crossed  the  Danube  and  were  far  down  in  the  Balkan 
peninsula  by  2000  B.C.  Some  of  them  had  doubtless  already  en- 
tered Italy  by  this  time.  These  western  tribes  were,  of  course, 
the  ancestors  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  We  shall  yet  join  them 
and  follow  them  in  their  conquest  of  the  Mediterranean  (pp.  1 23  ff .). 
Before  doing  so,  however,  we  have  to  watch  the  eastern  wing 
of  the  vast  Indo-European  line  as  it  swings  southward  and 
comes  into  collision  with  the  right  wing  of  the  Semitic  line. 

Section   17.    The  Aryan  Peoples  and  the  Iranian 
Prophet  Zoroaster 

It  is  now  an  established  fact  that  the  easternmost  tribes  of  The  Aryans ; 
the  Indo-European   line  were  by  2000  B.C.  already  pasturing   of^the  east-^ 
their  herds  in  the  great  steppe  on  the  east  of  the  Caspian.   ^™  ^^^s  °f 
Here  they  formed  a  people  properly  called  the  Aryans  ^  (see   European 
Fig.  49)  and  here  they  made  their  home  for  some  time.    The 
Aryan  people  had  no  writing,  and  they  have  left  no  monuments. 
Nevertheless  the  beliefs   of   their  descendants   show  that  the   Religion 
Aryan  tribes  already  possessed  a  high  form  of  religion,  which 
summed  up  conduct  as  "  good  thoughts,  good  deeds."    Fire 
occupied  an  important  place  in  this  faith,  and  they  had  a  group 
of  priests  whom  they  called  "  fire-kindlers." 

When  the  Ar)-ans  broke  up,  perhaps  about  1800  B.C.,  they   Ar>-ans  sepa- 
separated  into  two  parts.    The  eastern  tribes  wandered  south- 
eastward and  eventually  arrived  in  India.    In  their  sacred  books, 

1  The  Indo-European  parent  people  apparently  had  no  common  name  appli- 
cable to  all  their  tribes  as  a  great  group.  The  term  "  Aryan  "  is  often  popularly 
applied  to  the  parent  people,  but  this  custom  is  incorrect.  Arj'an  (from  which 
Iran  and  Iranian  are  later  derivatives)  designated  a  group  of  tribes,  a  fragment 
of  the  parent  people,  which  detached  itself  and  found  a  home  for  some  centuries 
just  east  of  the  Caspian  Sea.  When  we  hear  the  term  "  Ar>'an  "  applied  to  the  Indo- 
European  peoples  of  Europe,  or  when  it  is  said  that  we  ourselves  are  descended 
from  the  Aryans,  we  must  remember  that  this  use  of  the  word  is  historically  in- 
correct, though  very  common.  The  Aryajis,  then,  were  casteyti  descendants  of 
the  Indo-European  parent  people  as  we  are  wesier7i  descendants  of  the  parent 
people.   The  Aryans  are  our  distant  cousins  but  not  our  ancestors. 


rate  mto  two 
groups 


92 


Outlijies  of  Europcaii  History 


which  we  call  the  "  Vedas,"  written  in  Sanskrit,  there  are  echoes 
of  the  days  of  Aryan  unity,  and  they  furnish  many  a  hint  of  the 
ancient  Aryan  home  on  the  east  of  the  Caspian.  The  other  group, 
whose  tribes  have  kept  the  name  "  Aryan  "  in  the  form  "  Iran,"  ^ 
also  left  this  home  and  pushed  westward  and  southwestward  into 
the  mountains  bordering  our  fertile  crescent  (p.  58).  Among 
them  were  two  powerful  tribes,  the  Medes  and  the  Persians. 


Fig.  50.    Fire  Altars  of  Ancient  Fire  Worshipers  still 
SURVIVING  IN   Modern  Persia 


About  2100  B.C.,  in  the  age  of  Hammurapi,  long  before  they 
reached  the  fertile  crescent,  their  coming  was  announced  in 
advance  by  the  arrival  of  the  horse  in  Babylonia  (see  p.  69). 
We  recall  how  in  the  days  of  Assyria's  imperial  power,  nearly 
fifteen  hundred  years  later,  the  Medes  descended  from  the  north- 
ern mountains  against  Nineveh  (p.  79).  This  southern  advance 
of  the  Indo-European  eastern  wing  was  thus  overwhelming 
the  Semitic  right  wing  (Fig.  49),  occupying  the  fertile  crescent. 

1  They  have  given  their  name  to  the  great  Iranian  plateau,  which  stretches 
from  the  Zagros  Mountains  eastward  to  the  Indus  River.  This  whole  region  was 
known  in  Greek  and  Roman  days  as  Ariana,  which  (like  Iran)  is,  of  course, 
derived  from  "  Aryan." 


Empire  in  the  mountains  east  of  the  Tigris.    It  extended  from   Eur^*^ 
the  Persian  Gulf,  where  it  included  the  Persians,  northwestward   Empire 

threatens 


Western  Asia  :    The  Me  do- Persian  Empire  93 

By  600  B.C.  the  Medes  had  established  a  powerful  Iranian   The  Median 

ido- 

iropean) 
npire 
•eatens 

in  the  general  line  of  the  mountains  to  the  Black  Sea  region.  The  Chaldean 
front  of  the  Indo-European  eastern  wing  is  thus  roughly  parallel  Baby^ioma 
with  the  Tigris  at  this  point,  but  its  advance  is  not  to  stop  here. 
Nebuchadnezzar  (p.  80)  and  the  Chaldean  masters  of  Babylon 
look  with  anxious  eyes  at  this  dangerous  Median  power.  The 
Chaldeans  on  the  Euphrates  represent  the  leadership  of  men 
of  Semitic  blood  from  the  southern  pastures.  Their  leadership 
is  now  to  be  followed  by  that  of  the  men  of  Indo-European 
blood  from  the  7iorthern  pastures.  As  we  see  the  Chaldeans 
giving  way  before  the  Medes  and  Persians  (p.  97),  let  us  bear 
in  mind  that  we  are  watching  a  great  racial  change,  and  remem- 
ber that  these  new  Persian  masters  of  the  Far  East  are  our 
kindred ;  for  both  we  and  they  have  descended  from  the  same 
wandering  shepherd  ancestors,  the  Indo-European  parent  people, 
who  once  dwelt  in  the  far-off  pastures  of  inner  Asia,  probably 
five  thousand  years  ago. 

All  of  these  Iranians  possessed  a  beautiful  religion  inherited  The  religion 
from  old  Aryan  days  (see  p.  91).     Somewhere  in   the  east-   ira^niLs 
ern  mountains,  as  far  back  as   1000  b.c,  an  Iranian  named 
Zoroaster  ^  began  to  look  out  upon  the  life  of  men  in  an  effort   Zoroaster 
to  find  a  religion  which  would  meet  its  needs.    He  watched  the 
ceaseless  struggle  between  good  and  evil  which  seemed  to  meet 
him  wherever  he  turned.    To  him  it  seemed  to  be  a  struggle 
between  a  group  of  good  beings  on  the  one  hand  and  of  evil 
beings  on  the  other.   The  Good  became  to  him  a  divine  person, 

1  The  Greek  form  of  the  name  ;  it  is  taken  from  the  Persian  form  Zara- 
tJmshtra.  Some  scholars  support  a  date  for  Zoroaster  several  centuries  later  than 
1000  B.C.,  among  them  Professor  A.  V.  W.  Jackson,  in  his  very  valuable  book  on 
Zoroaster ;  but  two  proper  names  of  certain  royal  Medes,  occurring  in  the  records 
of  the  Assyrian  Sargon  (722-705  B.C.),  have  the  form  "  Mazdaka,"  containing  the 
name  of  Zoroaster's  god.  His  teaching  had  therefore  been  taken  up  by  the 
Median  royal  house  long  before  700  B.C.,  and  Zoroaster  himself  must  therefore 
have  lived  far  earlier  than  this.  The  date  1000  B.C.  is  a  rough  estimate  by 
Eduard  Meyer. 


94 


Outlines  of  Europeaji  History 


whom  he  called  Mazda,  or  Ahuramazda,  and  whom  he  regarded 
as  God.  Ahuramazda  was  surrounded  by  a  group  of  helpers 
much  like  angels,  of  whom  one  of  the  greatest  was  the  Light, 
called  "  Mithras."  Opposed  to  Ahuramazda  and  his  helpers 
was  the  evil  group,  among  whom  the  Spirit  of  Evil  and  another 
of  Darkness  were  prominent. 

Thus  the  faith  of  Zoroaster  grew  up  out  of  the  struggle  of 
life  itself,  and  became  a  great  power  in  life.  It  called  upon 
every  man  to  stand  on  one  side  or  the  other  ;  to  fill  his  soul  with 
the  Good  and  the  Light,  or  to  dwell  in  the  Evil  and  the  Dark- 
ness. Whatever  course  a  man  pursued  he  must  expect  a  judg- 
ment hereafter.  As  a  visible  symbol  of  the  Good  and  the  Light, 
Zoroaster  maintained  the  old  Aryan  veneration  of  fire  (Eig.  50), 
and  he  preserved  the  ancient  fire-kindling  priests. 

Zoroaster  went  about  among  the  Iranian  people  preaching  his 
new  religion,  and  probably  for  many  years  found  but  sluggish 
response  to  his  efforts.  We  can  discern  his  hopes  and  fears 
alike  in  the  little  group  of  hymns  he  has  left,  probably  the  only 
words  of  the  great  prophet  which  have  survived.  It  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  horse-loving  Iranians  that  Zoroaster  is  said  to 
have  finally  converted  one  of  their  great  kings  by  miraculously 
healing  the  king's  crippled  horse.  The  new  faith  had  gained  a 
firm  footing  before  the  prophet's  death,  however,  and  before 
700  B.C.  it  was  the  leading  religion  among  the  Medes  in  the 
mountains  along  the  fertile  crescent.  Thus  Zoroaster  became  the 
first  great  founder  of  a  religious  faith. 

As  in  the  case  of  Mohammed,  it  is  probable  that  Zoroaster 
could  neither  read  nor  write,  for  the  Iranians  seem  to  have 
possessed  no  system  of  writing  in  his  day  (see  p.  91).  With 
"the  exception  of  the  hymns  mentioned  above,  we  possess 
none  of  his  original  words  ;  but  his  teaching  has  descended  to  us 
in  certain  fragments  of  older  writings  put  together  in  the  early 
Christian  centuries,  over  one  thousand  years  after  the  prophet^s 
death.  They  form  a  book  known  as  the  Avesta.  This  we  may 
call  the  Bible  of  the  Persians,  in  whose  tongue  the  book  is  written. 


Western  Asia:   The  Medo- Persian  Empire         95 


Section  18.    The  Persian  Empire 

No  people  became  more  zealous  followers  of  Zoroaster  than  The  emer- 
the  Persians.  Through  them  a  knowledge  of  him  has  de-  fersfans'^^ 
scended  to  us.  At  the  fall  of  Nineveh  (606  B.C.)  (p.  79)  they 
were  already  long 
settled  in  the  region 
at  the  southeastern 
end  of  the  Zagros 
Mountains,  just  north 
of  the  Persian  Gulf. 
The  northern  shores 
of  the  Persian  Gulf 
are  little  better  than 
desert,  but  the  valleys 
of  the  mountainous 
hinterland  are  rich 
and  fertile.  Here 
the  group  of  Iranian 
tribes  known  as  the 
Persians  occupied  a 
district  some  four 
hundred  miles  long. 
They  were  a'  rude 
mountain  peasant 
folk,  leading  a  settled 
agricultural  life,  with 
simple  institutions,  no 
art,  no  writing  or 
literature,  but  with 
stirring  memories  of 
their  past,  including 
some  grand  sagas 
which  had  come  down 
from       the      distant 


imMTiiiL.  j: 


Fig.  51.   Persian  Soldiers 

Although  carrying  spears  when  doing  duty 
as  palace  guards,  these  men  .were  chiefly 
archers  (p.  96),  as  is  shown  by  the  size  of  the 
large  quivers  on  their  backs  for  containing 
the  supply  of  arrows.  The  bow  hangs  on  the 
left  shoulder.  The  royal  bodyguard  may 
also  be  seen  wielding  their  spears  around 
the  Persian  king  at  the  battle  of  Issus 
(Fig.  99).  Notice  the  splendid  robes  worn 
by  these  palace  guards.  The  figures  are  done 
in  brightly  colored  glazed  brick  —  an  art  bor- 
rowed by  the  Persians  (see  Fig.  48) 


96 


Outlines  of  Eiiropean  History 


Atyan  days.  As  they  tilled  their  fields  and  watched  their  flocks 
they  told  many  a  tale  of  the  ancient  prophet  who  had  died  four 
hundred  years  before,  and  whose  faith  they  held. 

They  acknowledged  themselves  vassals  of  their  kinsmen  the 
Medes,  who  ruled  far  to  the  north  and  northwest  of  them.  One 
of  their  tribes  dwelling  in  the  mountains  of  Elam  (see  map, 
p.  56),  a  tribe  known  as  Anshan,  was  organized  as  a  little 
kingdom.  About  fifty  years  after  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  this  little 
kingdom  was  ruled  over  by  a  Persian  named  Cyrus.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  uniting  the  other  tribes  of  his  kindred  Persians  into 
a  nation.  Thereupon  Cyrus  at  once  rebelled  against  the  rule  of 
the  Medes.  He  gathered  his  peasant  soldiery,  and  within  three 
years  he  defeated  the  Median  king  and  made  himself  master  of 
the  Median  territory.  The  extraordinary  career  of  Cyrus  was 
now  a  spectacle  upon  which  all  eyes  in  the  west  were  fastened 
with  wonder  and  alarm.  The  overflowing  energies  of  the  new 
conqueror  and  his  peasant  soldiery,  fresh  and  unspent  for  cen- 
turies among  their  eastern  hills,  proved  irresistible.  The  Persian 
peasants  seem  to  have  been  remarkable  archers,  and  the  mass 
of  the  Persian  army  was  made  up  of  bowmen  (Fig.  51)  whose 
storm  of  arrows  at  long  range  overwhelmed  the  enemy  long 
before  the  hand-to-hand  fighting  began.  Bodies  of  the  skillful 
Persian  horsemen,  hovering  on  either  wing,  then  rode  in  and 
completed  the  destruction  of  the  foe. 

The  great  states  Babylonia  (Chaldea),  Egypt,  Lydia  under 
King  Croesus  in  western  Asia  Minor,  and  even  Sparta  in  Greece 
formed  a  powerful  combination  against  this  sudden  menace, 
which  had  risen  like  the  flash  of  a  meteor  in  the  eastern  sky. 
Without  an  instant's  delay  Cyrus  struck  at  Croesus  of  Lydia,  the 
chief  author  of  the  hostile  combination.  One  Persian  victory  fol- 
lowed after  another.  By  546  B.C.  Sardis,  the  Lydian  capital,  had 
fallen  and  Croesus,  the  Lydian  king,  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands 
of  Cyrus.  Cyrus  at  once  gained  also  the  southern  coasts  of  Asia 
Minor.  Within  five  years  the  powder  of  the  little  Persian  kingdom 
in  the  mountains  of  Elam  had  swept  across  Asia  Minor  to  the 


Westefii  Asia  :    The  Medo-Persimi  Empire         97 


Mediterranean,  becoming  the  leading  state  in  the  oriental  world. 

Turning  eastward  again,  Cyrus  had  no  trouble  in  defeating  Cyrus 
the  army  of  Babylonia  led  by  the  young  Belshazzar,  whose  name  BTbybnia 
in  the  Book  of  Daniel  is  a  household  word  throughout  the  (Chaldea) 
Christian  world.  In  539  B.C.  the  Persians  entered  the  great  city  of 
Babylon  seemingly 
without  resistance. 
Thus  only  sixty- 
five  years  after  the 
fall  of  Nineveh 
(p. 7 9)  had  opened 
the  conflict  be- 
tween the  former 
dwellers  in  the 
northern  and  the 
southern  grass- 
lands, the  Semitic 
East  completely 
collapsed  before 
the  advance  of 
the  Indo-European 
power.  Some  ten 
years  later  Cyrus 
fell  in  battle  (528 
B.C.)  as  he  was 
fighting  with  the 
nomads  in  north- 
eastern  Iran. 

All  western  Asia 

was  now  subject  to  the  Persian  king;   but  in  525  B.C.,  only 
three  years  after  the  death  of  Cyrus,  his  son  Cambyses  con-   Cambyses 

r     ,  ,  .    ■  •  conquers 

quered  Egypt.     Phis  conquest  of  the  only  remainmg  ancient   Egypt 
oriental  power  rounded  out  the  Persian  Empire  to  include  the 
whole  civilized  East.   The  great  task  had  consumed  just  twenty- 
five  years  since  the  overthrow  of  the  Medes  by  Cyrus. 


Fig. 


52.   Colonnades  of  the  Persian 
Palace  at  Persepolis 


This  sumptuous  and  ornate  architecture  of  the 

Persians  is  made  up  of  patterns  borrowed  from 

other  peoples  and  combined  (see  p.  99) 


98 


Outlines  of  Ejiropean  Histoiy 


The  Persian 
Empire 
(about  530  to 
330  B.C.) 


Persians 
adopt  cunei- 
form and 
Aramean 
writing 


Organization 
of  the  Persian 
Empire  by 
Darius 


Coinage 


The  rude  simplicity  of  the  Persian  kings  now  rapidly  gave  way 
to  the  more  civilized  life  of  the  conquered  states.  The  Persian 
scribes  were  soon  writing  their  own  language  with  Babylonian 
cuneiform  (p.  62),  from  which  they  adopted  thirty-six  signs  as 
an  alphabet.  Darius  recorded  his  triumph  over  all  his  foes  at 
home  and  abroad  in  a  vast  inscription  in  cuneiform  on  the  great 
cliff  of  Behistun  looking  down  upon  the  ancient  highway  leading 
from  Babylon  to  Ecbatana ;  but  the  king's  office  documents  were 
written  on  parchment  with  the  Aramean  alphabet  (see  p.  71). 

The  organization  of  such  a  vast  empire,  stretching  from  the 
Indus  to  the  ^gean  Sea,  had  been  too  big  a  task  to  be  com- 
pleted by  Cyrus.  It  was  carried  through  by  Darius  the  Great 
(521-485  B.C.).  He  did  not  desire  further  conquests,  but  he 
planned  to  maintain  the  Empire  as  he  had  inherited  it.  He 
caused  himself  to  be  made  actual  king  in  Egypt  and  in  Baby- 
lonia, but  the  rest  of  the  Empire  he  divided  into  twenty  provinces, 
each  called  a  "  satrapy,"  each  being  under  a  governor  called  a 
"  satrap,"  w^ho  was  appointed  by  the  Great  King.  The  Persian 
rule  was  just,  humane,  and  intelligent,  but  of  course  tribute  was 
collected  from  all  parts  of  the  Empire. 

In  the  West,  chiefly  Lydia  and  the  Greek  settlements  in  w^estern 
A.sia  Minor  (p.  127),  where  the  coinage  of  metal  was  common  by 
600  B.C.  (p.  152),  this  tribute  was  paid  in  coined  money.  The 
eastern  countries  —  Eg)'pt,  Babylonia,  and  Persia  herself — were 
not  quick  to  adopt  this  new  convenience.  Here  during  most  of 
the  Persian  period  commerce  was  content  to  employ  gold  and 
silver  in  bars  which  could  be  cut  up  and  weighed  out  at  each 
payment  (p.  67).  Darius,  however,  began  the  coinage  of  gold 
and  permitted  his  satraps  to  coin  silver.  The  rate  was  about 
thirteen  to  one,  that  is  to  say,  gold  was  worth  about  thirteen 
times  as  much  as  silver.  Thus  the  great  commercial  convenience 
of  coined  money  issued  by  the  State  began  to  come  into  the 
Orient  during  the  Persian  period. 

The  Persian  kings  fostered  business  and  commerce,  main- 
tained excellent  roads  from  end  to  end  of  the  great  Empire,  and 


Western  Asia :    The  Me  do- Persian  Empire  99 

introduced  royal  messengers  along  these  roads,  who  formed  the   Commerce, 
beginnings  of  a  postal  system.    These  roads  converged  upon  the  postal 
royal  residence  in  the  ancient  Elamite  city  of  Susa,  in  the  Zagros   system 
Mountains,  where  the  king  lived  much  of  the  time.  The  mild  air   Royal 
of  the  Babylonian  plain  attracted  him  during  the  colder  months, 
when  he  went  to  dwell  among  the  palaces  of  the  vanished  Chal- 
dean Empire  at  Babylon.    The  old  Persian  home  of  the  Great 
King  lay  too  far  from  the  centers  of  oriental  civilization  for 
him  to  spend  much  time  in  Persia.    But  Cyrus  built  a  splendid 
palace  near  the  battle  field  where  he  had  defeated  the  Medes 
at  Pasargadae,  and  Darius  also  established  a  new  residence  at 
Persepolis  (Fig.  52),  some  twenty  miles  south  of  the  palace  of 
Cyrus.    Near  the  ruins  of  these  buildings  the  tombs  of  Cyrus,   Tombs  of  the 
Darius,  and  other  great  Persian  kings  still  stand  (Fig.  53).    The     ^^^^^"   ^"^^ 
art  of  these  buildings  is  made  up  of  elements  borrowed  from 
the  great  oriental  civilizations  of  Egypt,  Babylonia,  and  Assyria. 
The  enormous  terraces  on  which  they  stood  suggested  Babylonia ;   Architecture 
the  vast  colonnades  which  swept  along  the  front  were  more  rich 
and  sumptuous  than  the  East  had  ever  seen  before,  but  they 
showed  the  influence  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  Phoenicia,  and  Asia 
Minor.    The  great  civilizations  which  made  up  the  Empire  were 
thus  merged  together  in  Persian  art. 

The  later  world  often  represents  the  Persian  kings  as  cruel  character  of 
and  barbarous  oriental  tyrants.  This  unfavorable  opinion  goes  ^ings 
too  far.  Such  impressions  have  descended  to  us  from  the  Greeks, 
who  thrust  back  the  Persians  from  Europe  (p.  177).  The  Persian 
kings  were  fully  conscious  of  their  great  mission  as  civilizing 
rulers.  This  is  shown  when  Darius  finds  Scylax,  a  skillful  sea 
captain  who  had  learned  navigation  along  the  shores  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  dispatches  him  to  explore  the  course  of  the  great 
Indus  River  in  India.  Then  he  is  ordered  to  sail  along  the  coast 
of  Asia  from  the  mouth  of  the  Indus  westward  to  the  Isthmus 
of  Suez.  Here  Darius  restores  the  ancient  but  long  filled-up 
canal  of  the  Egyptians  connecting  the  Nile  with  the  Red  Sea 
(p.  T^'^.    It  was  thus  possible  in  Persian  times  for  Mediterranean 


lOO 


Outlines  of  European  History 


commerce  to  pass  up  the  Nile  and  through  the  Red  Sea  to  India. 
Darius  also  cherished  what  proved  to  be  a  vain  hope,  that  the 
south  coast  of  Persia  might  come  to  share  in  the  now  growing 
commerce  between  India  and  the  Mediterranean  world.  Although 
proud  of  their  master}^  of  the  world,  the  Persian  kings  felt  a  deep 
sense  of  obligation  to  rule  the  nations  of  the  earth  in  accordance 
with  the  Good  and  the  Right  which  Ahuramazda  personified. 


IC^-'^^r^H, 


Fig.  53.   The  Tombs  of  the  Persian  Kings 

The  fronts  of  the  tombs  are  carved  in  the  cliffs  at  the  left.   They  begin 

with  the  tomb  of  Darius,  about  500  B.C.    The  tomb  of  Cyrus  (in  the 

vicinity)  is  a  detached  stone  structure  not  shown  here.    The  detached 

building  on  the  right  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  tombs 

Unfortunately,  as  time  passed,  the  Persian  kings  grew  more  and 
more  inefficient  and  unsuccessful  as  rulers. 

The  Persian  rulers  were  devoted  followers  of  Zoroaster's 
teaching  and  felt  keenly  the  sharp  line  which  that  faith  drew 
between  good  and  bad.  The  Persian  power  carried  this  noble 
faith  throughout  western  Asia  and  especially  into  Asia  Minor. 
It  had  here  the  form  which  it  gradually  came  to  take  under  the 
later  Persian  kings.  In  this  form  Mithras,  made  by  Zoroaster  a 
helper  of  Ahuramazda  (p.  94),  appears  as  a  hero  of  light,  and 


Western  Asia  :    The  Helnrivs  lOi 

finally  a  sun  god,  who  gradually  outshines  Ahuramazda  himself. 
From  Asia  Minor  Mithras  passed  into  Europe,  and,  as  we  shall 
see,  the  faith  in  the  mighty  Persian  god  spread  far  and  wide 
through  the  Roman  Empire,  to  become  a  dangerous  competitor 
of  Christianity  (p.  298). 

In  matters  of  religion  the  Persian  Empire  marked  the  break-   Far-reaching 
down  of  national  boundaries  and  the  beginning  of  a  long  period   among  orien- 
when,  the  leading  religions  of  the  East  were  called  upon  to  com-  ^'  religions 
pete  in  a  great  contest  for  the  mastery  among  all  the  nations. 
The  most  important  of  the  religions  which  thus  found  themselves 
thrown  into  a  world  struggle  for  chief  place  under  the  dominion 
of  Persia  was  the  religion  of  the  Hebrews.    While  we  leave  the 
imperial  family  of  Persia  to  suffer  that  slow  decline  which  always 
besets  a  long  royal  line  in  the  Orient,  we  may  glance  briefly  at 
the  little  Hebrew  kingdom  among  the  Persian  vassals  in  the 
West,  which  was  destined  to  influence  the  history  of  the  world 
more  profoundly  than  any  of  the  great  imperial  powers  of  the 
early  world. 

Section  19.    The  Hebrews 

iThe  Hebrews  were  all  originally  men  of  the  Arabian  desert,^   The  Hebrew 
wandering  with  their  flocks  and  herds  and  slowly  drifting  over   Palestine" 
into  their  final  home  in  Palestine,  at  the  west  end  of  the  fertile   (about  1400 

'  to   1200  B.C.) 

crescent  (p.  56).  For  two  centuries  their  movement  into  Pales- 
tine continued  (about  1400  to  1200  B.C.).  When  they  entered 
it  as  nomad  shepherds  (see  p.  59),  the  Hebrews  possessed 
very  little  civilization.  A  southern  group  of  their  tribes  had 
been  slaves  in  Egypt,^  but  had  been  induced  to  flee  by  their 

1  The  student  should  here  carefully  reread  the  account  of  the  Arabian  desert 
and  the  Semitic  nomads,  their  life,  customs,  and  religion,  on  pages  57-60.  It 
was  from  this  desert  and  its  life  that  the  Hebrews  all  originally  came. 

2  The  familiar  Bible  stories  of  the  oppression  of  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt  and 
the  making  of  brick,  which  they  did  there,  are  interestingly  illustrated  by  the  brick 
storehouse  rooms  still  standing  in  the  eastern  Nile  Delta  in  the  city  of  Pithom, 
which  the  Hebrews  are  said  to  have  built  (Exod.  i,  12).  They  are  shown  at  the 
end  of  Chapter  IV  (p.  no). 


:o2 


Outlines  of  liu7'opcan  History 


heroic  leader  Moses,  who  led  them  to  Palestine.  Here  they  found 
flourishing  towns  of  the  Canaanites  (p.  59),  who  had  long  been 
setded  in  Palestine.  The  Canaanites  also  had  once  come  from 
the  desert ;  they  spoke  a  language  hardly  differing  from  Hebrew. 
But  they  had  so  long  led  a  settled  life  that  tbeir  towns  were 
protected  by  massive  walls  (Figs.  55,  56).  The  camel  cara- 
vans which  entered  their  gates  brought  in  merchandise  both 
from  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates.    There  was  here,  therefore,  a 


Fig.  54.   The  Central  Ridge  of  Palestine  seen  from  the 
Plain  of  Jericho 

Palestine  is  much  cut  up  by  such  bare  and  sterile  ridges  of  hmestone, 
which  produce  nothing.    Locate  on  map,  p.  102  ;  see  Fig.  55 

jumble  of  civilization  from  both  these  rivers.  The  Canaanites 
had  learned  from  Eg)'pt  the  manufacture  of  many  valuable  arti- 
cles of  commerce ;  from  Babylonia  the  caravans  had  brought  in 
bills  and  lists  on  clay  tablets,  and  the  Canaanites  had  thus  learned 
to  use  Babylonian  cuneiform  writing  (p.  62).  The  Hebrews  were 
unable  to  destroy  the  Canaanites  and  their  walled  towns.  They 
settled  on  the  land  around  such  towns  and  slowly  mingled  with 
the  Canaanites  until  the  two  peoples,  Hebrew  and  Canaanite, 
had  become  one.  This  process  was  of  great  advantage  to  the 
Hebrews,  who  thus  gained  the  civilization  of  the  CanaanitesTj 


]Vester?i  Asia  :    The  Hebrezvs  103 


The  situation  of  Palestine,  with  Eg]y^pt  on  one  side  and  Assyria   Rise  of  the 

Hebrew 
kingdom 


and  Babylonia  on  the  other,  was  a  dangerous  one.  These  great 
powers  would  not  allow  another  strong  nation  to  grow  up  in  ^^0^°"^  g°(,^5 
Palestine.  Fortunately  for  the  Hebrews,  Eg)^pt,  as  we  have 
learned,  fell  into  a  state  of  feebleness  by  1 150  B.C.  (p.  53)  ;  and, 
on  the  other  side,  the  Aramean  kingdom  of  Damascus  was  a 
protection  against  the  advance  of  Assyria  (p.  71).  Thus  the  Saul  and  the 
Hebrews  were  permitted  to  grow  into  a  nation,  and  before 
1 000  B.C.  we  find  them  under  their  first  king,  Saul.  But  immi- 
grants from   Crete    in   the   Mediterranean  —  a   people    called 


Fig.  55.  The  Long  Mound  of  the  Ancient  City  of  Jericho 

The  walls  of  the  city  and  the  ruins  of  the  houses  (Fig.  56)  are  buried 

under  the  rubbish  which  makes  up  this  mound.    Many  of  the  ancient 

cities  of  Palestine  are  now  such  mounds  as  this 

"Philistines"  (Fig.  70)  —  had  recently  settled  on  the  coast  of 
Palestine  (see  map,  p.  102).  From  their  new  home  they  greatly 
troubled  the  Hebrews.  They  slew  Saul  and  in  one  war  after 
another  they  nearly  destroyed  the  young  Hebrew  nation. 

The  old  nomad  customs  were  still  strong,  for  Saul,  the  first  David 
king,  had  no  fixed  home  but  dwelt  in  a  tent.  His  successor, 
David,  saw  the  importance  of  a  strong  castle  as  the  king's 
permanent  home.  He  therefore  seized  the  old  Canaanite  for- 
tress of  Jerusalem.  The  Hebrews  had  been  dwelling  under  its 
shadow  for  centuries,  unable  to  take  it  from  the  Canaanites. 
From  Jerusalem,  as  his  residence,  David  extended  his  power  far 
and  wide  and  made  the  Hebrews  a  strong  nation.  His  people 
never  forgot  his  heroic  deeds  as  a  warrior  nor  his  skill  as  a 
poet  and  singer,  and  centuries  later  they  revered  him  as  the 
author  of  many  of  their  religious  songs  or  "  psalms." 


I04  Outlines  of  European  History 

Solomon,  David's  son,  delighted  in  oriental  luxury  and  showy 
display.  He  weighed  down  the  Hebrews  with  heavy  taxes.  The 
discontent  was  so  great  that,  under  Solomon's  son,  Rehoboam, 
the  ten  northern  tribes  withdrew  from  the  nation  and  set  up 
a  king  of  their  own.  Thus  the  Hebrew  kingdom  was  divided 
before  it  was  a  century  old.  Solomon's  son  continued  to  rule 
at  Jerusalem  over  a  little  kingdom  of  southern  Palestine  known 
as  Judah.  The  Hebrews  of  the  northern  tribes  were  far  more 
numerous,  their  land  was  much  more  fertile,  and  they  formed 
a  much  stronger  kingdom,  called  Israel.  Their  capital,  after 
some  changes,  was  finally  Samaria  (see  map,  p.  102). 

There  was  much  hard  feeling  between  the  two  Hebrew  king- 
doms, and  sometimes  fighting.  Israel  was  rich  and  prosperous  ; 
its  market  places  were  filled  with  industry  and  commerce ;  its 
fields  produced  plentiful  crops.  Israel  displayed  the  wealth  and 
success  of  town  life.  Judah,  on  the  other  hand,  was  poor,  her 
land  was  meager  (Fig.  57),  she  had  few  large  and  powerful 
towns.  Many  of  the  people  still  wandered  with  their  flocks.  The 
south  thus  remained  largely  nomad.  Here  are  two  different 
ideals  of  life :  a  settled  life  of  wealth,  luxury,  and  oppression  of 
the  poor ;  and  a  wandering  life  of  simplicity,  where  each  was 
glad  to  share  his  prosperity  with  all  the  brethren  of  the  tribe, 
and  equality  reigned.  These  two  methods  of  life  came  into 
conflict  in  many  ways,  but  especially  in  religion.  Ever}'  old 
Canaanite  town  had  for  centuries  worshiped  its  baal,  or  lord, 
as  its  local  god  was  called.  These  had  never  died  out.  Many 
Hebrews  accepted  the  baals  as  the  gods  of  the  rich  and  the 
prosperous  in  the  towns.  The  Hebrew  God  Yahweh  (or  Jeho- 
vah ^),  on  the  other  hand,  as  the  god  of  the  nomad  and  the 
desert,  was  felt  to  be  the  protector  of  the  poor  and  needy. 

Thoughtful  Hebrews  then  began  to  think  of  him  as  a  god  of 
fatherly  kindness,  who  rebuked  the  wealthy  class  in  the  towns. 

1  The  Hebrews  pronounced  the  name  of  their  God  "  Yahweh."  The  pronun- 
ciation "  Jehovah  "  began  less  than  four  hundred  years  ago  and  was  due  to  a 
misunderstanding  of  the  pronunciation  of  the  word  "  Yahweh." 


Western  Asia :    The  Hebreivs 


105 


Their  showy  clothes,  fine  houses,  beautiful  furniture,  and  their  The  earliest 
hard-heartedness  toward  the  poor  were  things  unknown  in  the   /eigh"h'^ 
desert.    Men  who  chafed  under  such  injustices  of  town  life   century  b.c.) 
turned  'fondly  back  to  the  grand  old  days  of  their  shepherd 
wanderings  out  yonder  on  the  broad   reaches  of  the  desert, 


Fig.  56.    Ruixs  of  the  Houses  of  Ancient  Jericho 

Only  the  stone  foundations  of  these  houses  are  preserved.  The  walls 
were  of  sun-baked  brick,  and  the  rains  of  over  three  thousand  years  have 
washed  them  away;  for  these  houses  date  from  about  1500  B.C.,  and 
in  them  lived  the  Canaanites,  whom  the  Hebrews  found  in  Palestine 
(p.  102).  Here  we  find  the  furniture  of  these  houses,  in  so  far  as  it  con- 
sisted of  things  durable  enough  to  survive,  like  the  pottery  jars,  glass, 
and  dishes  of  the  household  ;  also  things  carved  of  stone,  like  seals, 
amulets,  and  ornaments  of  metal 


where  no  man  'Aground  the  faces  of  the  poor."  It  was  a  man 
with  such  admiration  for  the  nomad  life  of  the  fathers  who  be- 
came the  earliest-known  historian^  and  told  the  immortal  tales 
of  the  Hebrew  patriarchs,  of  Abraham  and  Isaac,  of  Jacob  and 

1  Unfortunately  we  do  not  know  his  name,  for  the  Hebrews  themselves  early 
lost  all  knowledge  of  his  name  and  identity,  and  finally  associated  the  surviving 
fragments  of  his  work  with  the  name  of  Moses. 


io6 


Outlines  of  Eu7vpcaii  History 


Joseph.  These  tales,  preserved  to  us  in  the  Old  Testament,  are 
among  the  noblest  literature  which  has  survived  from  the  past.^ 

Other  men  were  not  content  merely  to  tell  tales  of  the  good 
old  days.  Amos,  a  simple  herdsman,  w^ho  came  from  the  south, 
entered  the  towns  of  the  wealthy  north  and  denounced  their 
luxury  and  corruption.  The  God  whom  the  people  once  thought 
of  only  as  a  leader  in  the  fierce  tribal  wars  of  the  wilderness^ 
Amos  now  announced  as  a  God  of  mercy  and  kindness  in  the 
social  struggles  of  the  town.  Hius  these  social  and  religious 
reformers,  like  Amos,  whom  we  call  prophets,  were  gaining  a 
larger  vision  of  God  as  they  watched  the  struggles  of  men. 

By  this  time  the  Hebrews  had  learned  to  write.  They  were 
now  abandoning  the  clay  tablet  which  the  Canaanites  had  re- 
ceived from  Babylonia  (p.  67),  and  they  wrote  on  sheepskin  and 
papyrus  (p.  22)  in  long  strips,  which  were  rolled  up  when  not 
in  use.  They  used  the  Egyptian  pen  and  ink,  and  the  alpha- 
bet they  employed  came  to  them  from  the  Phoenician  merchants 
(p.  139).  The  "rolls"  containing  the  tales  of  the  patriarchs 
and  the  teachings  of  such  men  as  Amos  were  the  first  books 
which  the  Hebrews  produced  —  their  first  literature.  Litera- 
ture was  the  only  art  the  Hebrew  possessed.  He  had  no 
painting,  sculpture,  or  architecture,  and  if  he  needed  these 
things  he  borrowed  from  his  great  neighbors,  Eg)^pt,  Phoenicia, 
Damascus,  or  Assyria. 

While  the  Hebrews  were  deeply  stirred  by  their  own  affairs 
at  home,  they  were  now  rudely  aroused  to  dangers  coming  from 
beyond  their  own  borders.  Assyria  first  swept  away  Damascus 
(p.  72).  The  kingdom  of  Israel,  thus  left  exposed,  was  the 
next  victim,  and  Samaria,  its  capital,  was  taken  by  the  Assyrians 
in  722  B.C.  (p.  72).  Many  of  the  unhappy  people  were  carried 
away  as  captives.  The  feeble  little  kingdom  of  Judah  survived  for 
something  over  a  century  and  a  quarter  more.  During  this  time 
it  beheld  and  rejoiced  over  the  destruction  of  Nineveh  (p.  79). 


1  The  student  should  read  these  tales,  especially  Gen.   xxiv,  xxvii,  xxviii, 
xxxvii,  xxxix-xlvii,  12. 


Wester7i  Asia  :    TJie  Hebreivs  107 

But  it  had  only  exchanged  one  foreign  lord  for  another,  and 
Chaldea  followed  Assyria  in  control  of  Palestine  (p.  80).  Then 
their  unwillingness  to  submit  brought  upon  the  men  of  Judah  the 
same  fate  which  their  kindred  of  Israel  had  suffered.  In  586  B.C. 
Nebuchadnezzar,  the  Chaldean  king  of  Babylonia,  destroyed 
Jerusalem  and  carried  away  the  people  to  exile  in  Babylonia.^ 


/ 


,H 


4yM4'iL^ 


^^hiw^.  ^r^ 


'  ^.  \*i 


u.   ■:::x  J-  -"^   " 


■^^^  ^--a^g^iiin' 


theism 


Fig.  SI-  The  Stony  and  Unproductive  Fields  of  Judah 

Judah  is  largely  made  up  of  sterile  ridges  like  this  in  the  background. 
Note  the  scantiness  of  the  growing  grain  in  the  foreground  (p.  104) 

Forced  to  dwell  in  strange  lands  the  Hebrews  were  now^  The  exiled 
faced  by  the  great  question :  "  Does  Yahweh  dwell  and  rule  in  g^in  mono- 
Palestine  only,  as  we  have  always  thought ;  or  is  he  also  ruler 
of  all  nations,  and  does  he  dwell  with  us  in  our  exile  in  a  strange 
land  ? "  Like  all  nomads,  they  had  at  first  believed  that  their 
God  had  no  power  beyond  the  corner  of  the  desert  where  they 
lived  (p.  59)  ;  next  they  believed  him  to  be  lord  of  Palestine 

1  The  headpiece  of  this  chapter  shows  a  lion  of  blue-glazed  brick  from  the 
buildings  of  Nebuchadnezzar  at  Babylon. 


io8 


Oiitlmes  of  European  History 


The  Hebrews 
after  the 
Exile;  the 
Old  Testa- 


Decline  of 
Persia ;  end 
of  poHtical 
supremacy 
of  the  Orient 
(333  B.C.) 


only ;  now,  in  exile,  they  perceived  for  the  first  time  that  he 
was  king  of  all  the  earth  and  righteous  ruler  of  all  the  nations. 
We  call  belief  in  such  a  god  monotheism,  which  is  a  Greek 
word  meaning  "  one- god-ism."  This  belief  denies  the  existence  of 
all  other  gods.  To  reach  the  belief  in  such  a  god  the  Hebrews 
had  passed  through  a  long  development  and  discipline,  lasting 
many  centuries,  during  which  they  had  outgrown  many  imper- 
fect ideas,  thus  illustrating  the  words  of  the  greatest  of  Hebrew 
teachers,  "  First  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full  grain  in 
the  ear."  ^ 

While  the  Hebrews  were  exiles  in  Babylonia,  the  victories  of 
Cyrus  (p.  96)  overthrew  their  Chaldean  lords  and  gave  to  the 
Hebrews  Persian  masters  instead.  With  great  humanity  the 
Persian  kings  allowed  the  Hebrew  exiles  to  return  to  Palestine, 
their  native  land.  At  different  times  enough  of  them  went  back 
to  Jerusalem  to  rebuild  the  city  on  a  very  modest  scale.  Their 
leaders  restored  the  temple,  and  the  old  worship  there  w^as 
resumed.  These  men  arranged  and  copied  the  ancient  writings 
of  their  fathers,  such  as  the  stories  of  the  patriarchs  or  the 
speeches  of  Amos  (p.  1 06).  They  also  added  other  writings  of 
their  own.  All  these  writings,  in  Hebrew,  form  the  Bible  of  the 
Jews  at  the  present  day.  They  have  also  become  a  sacred  book 
for  all  Christians  and  translated  into  English,  they  are  called  the 
Old  Testament.  They  form  the  most  precious  legacy  which  we 
have  inherited  from  the  older  Orient  before  the  coming  of 
Christ  Tp.  300). 

It  should  be  remembered,  then,  that  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant things  which  we  owe  to  the  Persians  was  their  restoration 
of  the  Hebrews  to  Palestine.  For  the  oriental  world  as  a 
whole,  Persian  rule  meant  about  two  hundred  years  of  peaceful 
prosperity  (ending  about  333  B.C.).  The  Persian  kings,  how- 
ever, as  time  went  on,  were  no  longer  as  strong  and  skillful  as 
Cyrus  and  Darius.  They  loved  luxury  and  ease  and  left  the 
task  of  government  to  their  governors  and  officials.    The  result 

^  The  words  of  Jesus ;  see  Mark  iv,  28. 


I 


Western  Asia  :    The  Me  do- Persian  Empire        109 

was  weakness  and  decline,  until  the  final  fall  of  Persia  and  the 
surrender  of  political  leadership  of  the  Orient  to  the  men  of 
Europe,  whose  career  in  the  eastern  Mediterranean  we  must 
now  take  up. 


QUESTIONS 

Section  16.  What  is  the  extent  of  the  northern  grasslands? 
Trace  them  on  the  map  on  page  56.  As  a  source  of  migrating  popu- 
lation how  do  they  resemble  the  southern  grasslands  ?  Diagram  the 
two  racial  lines,  Indo-European  and  Semitic. 

What  is  the  relation  of  these  two  lines  in  the  history  of  the  ancient 
world  ?  From  which  line  are  we  descended  ?  Give  some  account  of 
the  Indo-European  parent  people.  Discuss  their  dispersion.  What 
proof  of  the  relationship  between  their  modern  descendants  still 
exists?  Where  are  the  two  ends  of  the  Indo-European  line  in  the 
Old  World  now?    of  the  Semitic  line? 

Section  17.  Locate  the  Aryan  tribes  on  the  map  on  page  80 
(they  are  not  marked)  and  give  some  account  of  them.  Into  what 
two  groups  did  they  separate  ?  What  became  of  the  eastern  group  ? 
Where  did  the  western  group  settle  ? 

What  were  its  two  leading  peoples?  What  Indo-European  people 
first  invaded  the  fertile  crescent,  and  when  ?  Who  overthrew  Assyria, 
and  when  ?  Who  was  Zoroaster  ?  What  did  he  teach  ?  Whom  did 
he  convert?  What  peoples  adopted  the  religion  he  taught?  What 
is  the  A  vesta} 

Section  i  8.  Who  were  the  Persians  ?  Who  was  Cyrus  ?  Where 
did  his  people  live  ?  Whom  did  he  first  conquer  ?  Where  were  his 
next  great  conquests?  Describe  Persian  methods  of  fighting.  What 
great  ancient  city  did  Cyrus  finally  conquer?  What  race  then  con- 
trolled the  fertile  crescent? 

What  other  ancient  land  did  the  son  of  Cyrus  conquer  ?  What 
was  then  the  extent  of  the  Persian  Empire?  Who  organized  it? 
Describe  Persian  rule .  Where  did  the  Persian  kings  live  ?  What 
was  their  character  ?    Whither  did  Persian  religion  spread  ? 

Section  19.  What  kind  of  a  life  did  the  Hebrews  originally  lead 
and  whence  did  they  come?  Where  is  Palestine?  Whom  did  the 
Hebrews  find  there?  What  was  the  final  result  of  the  Hebrew  inva- 
sion? Tell  the  story  of  the  Hebrew  kingdom.    Did  it  remain  united? 


no 


Oiitlhics  of  European  History 


What  kind  of  great  men  arose  under  the  two  kingdoms  r  What 
were  their  ideas  of  God?  What  happened  to  the  two  kingdoms? 
What  happened  to  the  surviving  Hebrews?  What  was  their  idea 
of  God?  Who  allowed  some  of  the  exiles  to  return  to  Palestine? 
What  did  the  returned  exiles  do?  What  is  the  Hebrew  Bible  or 
Old  Testament? 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  MEDITERRANEAN  WORLD  AND  THE  EARLY  GREEKS 


Section  20.   The  ^gean  Civilization 

1  The  Mediterranean  Sea  was  the  ocean  where  the  ancient  The  Medi- 
world  carried  on  its  commerce  by  ship,  its  explorations  of  un- 
known shores,  and  the  settlement  of  colonies  in  newly  discovered 
regions,  just  as  later,  men  of  Europe  explored  and  colonized 
the  shores  of  the  Atlantic.  The  Mediterranean  is,  moreover,  a 
body  of  water  so  vast  that  it  bounds  a  large  part  of  Europe  on 
the  south.  It  is  about  twenty-four  hundred  miles  long  and,  laid 
out  across  the  United  States,  would  reach  from  New  York  over 
into  California.  Nowhere  else  on  the  globe  is  there  a  great  Its  shores 
landlocked  inland  sea  with  a  coast  so  irregular  and  indented  as 
to  produce  a  whole  series  of  smaller  seas  and  sheltered  basins. 
All  this,  as  we  have  seen,  favored  the  early  rise  of  seagoing' 
ships  and  made  the  Mediterranean  the  earliest  home  of  naviga- 
tion, which  is  far  earlier  than  historians  formerly  supposed. 
Nor  have  the  current  books  yet  taken  knowledge  of  the  fact  that 
large  fleets  sailed  the  Mediterranean  in  the  thirtieth  century  B.C. 
These  earliest  vessels  transformed  the  Mediterranean  from  a 
separating  barrier  into  a  connecting  link,  joining  together  the 
surrounding  lands  which  made  up  the  ancient  world. 

The  food  of  the  Mediterranean  peoples  to-day  is  chiefly  bread, 
wine,  and  oil ;  wine  is  their  tea,  and  oil  their  butter.     It  was 

III 


112 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Food  prod- 
ucts and 
climate  of 
the  Medi- 
terranean 


equally  so  in  ancient  times.  In  the  Homeric  poems  bread  and 
wine  are  the  chief  food  of  all,  even  of  the  children ;  and  Eu- 
ripides praises  bread  and  wine  as  the  earliest  gifts  of  the  gods 
to  men.  In  spite  of  the  dry  summer  heat,  the  grapevine  and 
the  olive  tree  grow  and  ripen  their  fruit  without  irrigation.  This 
is  a  condition  in  the  Mediterranean  countries,  then,  voxy  different 


Fig.  58.   The  Mound  of  Ancient  Troy  (Ilium) 

When  Schliemann  first  visited  this  mound  (see  map,  p.  146)  in  1868,  it 
was  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  high,  and  the  Turks  were 
cultivating  grain  on  its  summit.  He  excavated  a  pit  like  a  crater  in  the 
top  of  the  hill,  passing  downward  through  nine  successive  cities  built 
each  on  the  ruins  of  its  predecessors.  At  the  bottom  of  his  pit  (about 
fifty  feet  deep)  Schliemann  found  the  original  once  bare  hilltop  about 
seventy-five  feet  high,  on  which  the  men  of  the  Late  Stone  Age  (p.  14) 
had  established  a  small  settlement  of  sun-baked  brick  houses  about  3000 
B.C.  (First  City).  Above  the  scanty  ruins  of  this  Late  Stone  Age  settle- 
ment rose,  in  layer  after  layer,  the  ruins  of  the  later  cities,  with  the 
Roman  buildings  at  the  top.  The  entire  depth  of  fifty  feet  of  ruins  rep- 
resented a  period  of  about  thirty-five  hundred  years  from  the  First 
City  (Late  Stone  Age)  to  the  Ninth  City  (Roman)  at  the  top.  The 
Second  City  (p.  117)  contained  the  earliest  copper  found  in  the  series; 
the  Sixth  City  was  that  of  the  Trojan  War  and  the  Homeric  songs 
(p.  142).    Its  masonry  walls  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  71 


Flocks  and 
herds 


from  what  we  have  found  in  Eg}^pt  and  Babylonia.  The  shores  of 
the  northern  Mediterranean  are  on  the  whole  so  cut  up  by  steep 
and  rugged  mountains  that  they  are  well  suited  to  flocks  and  herds, 
but  agriculture  and  gardening  also  flourish  where  river  valleys  and 
shore  plains,  as  in  Italy,  offer  a  wider  stretch  of  moist  and  culti- 
vable soil.  A  mild  climate  with  a  ^xy  summer  and  a  rainy  season 
during  winter  makes  the  conditions  of  life  easy  and  favorable. J 


^   >    i'l'^ ,  i 


Outli)ies  of  European  History 


Europe 
learns  the  use 
of  metal 


As  early  as  three  thousand  years  before  the  Christian  Era 
Egyptian  seagoing  ships  ^  (p.  32  and  Fig.  14)  began  to  issue 
from  the  Nile  and  cross  the  Mediterranean  northward.  The 
copper  which  these  ships  brought  into  the  ^gean  (p.  i\)  then 
slowly  spread,  through  the  Mediterranean,  from  people  to  people. 
It  finally  crossed  Europe  as  the  trader  carried  it  with  his  pack 
trains  up  the  Rhone  and  the  Danube,  or  over  the  Alpine  passes 


Fig.  60.  A  Hittite  Prince  hunting  Deer 

The  prince  accompanied  by  his  driver  stands  in  the  moving  chariot, 
shooting  with  bow  and  arrow  at  the  fleeing  stag.  A  hound  runs  beside 
the  horses.  Over  the  scene  is  an  inscription  in  Hittite  hieroglyphs 
(p.  118).  The  whole  is  sculptured  in  stone,  and  forms  a  good  example  of 
the  rather  crude  Hittite  art,  greatly  influenced  by  that  of  Egypt  and 
Babylonia  from  which  it  gained  much 

into  the  valley  of  the  Elbe  and  there  shifted  his  cargo  to  river 
boats,  in  which  he  floated  downstream  to  the  northern  seas  — 
where  by  2000  B.C.  copper  became  common  as  far  north  as 
Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Norway.  In  return  the  trader  carried 
back  amber  to  the  Mediterranean  ports. 

Stone  implements  had,  however,  by  no  means  disappeared  in 
Europe,  but  the  northern  craftsman,  pleased  with  the  form  of 

1  The  student  should  here  reread  pp.  14  f. 


The  M edit  err aiieaji  World  and  the  Early  Greeks      1 1 5 


copper  ax  or  dagger,  imitated  the  metal  shapes  in  stone  with 
brilliant  success.  So  long  as  he  was  obliged  to  depend  entirely 
upon  imported  metal  he  was  slow  to  learn  the  new  art  of  shaping 
it.  At  last  the  knowledge  that  metal  might  be  found  in  mountain 
ores  reached  him,  and  he  sought  and  found  the  precious  veins 
of  metal  in  his  own  mountains.  In  the  British  Isles  the  galleries 
which  the  ancient  miner  pushed  into  the  mountain  side,  although 
they  have  sometimes  caved  in,  still  contain  the  stone  pickaxes 
which  he  used  there ;  while  in  the  Austrian  Alps  we  find  the 
remains  of  his  rude  equipment  for  getting  out  the  ore,  with 
even  his  ore-crushers  and  smelting  furnaces  still  preserved.  The 
lens-shaped  disks  of  copper  which  came  from  these  furnaces 
still  show  us  the  form  of  the  raw  metal  as  it  went  from  the  smelt- 
ing furnaces  to  the  craftsman.  Such  miners  also  discovered  the 
tin  mines  of  Portugal  and  of  Cornwall  in  England,  and  with  this 
they  were  able  to  harden  copper  into  bronze  (see  p.  34),  which 
was  common  in  the  Norse  countries  as  early  as  2000  b.c.-^ 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  now  possessed  metal,  the 
peoples  of  western  and  northern  Europe  still  failed  to  advance 
to  a  high  type  of  civilization.  As  we  have  seen,  they  learned  to 
build  vast  structures  of  rough  stone  all  along  the  shores  of  the 
Atlantic  (p.  12  and  Fig.  8),  like  the  great  stone  circles  at  Stone- 
henge ;  but  they  w^ere  unable  to  advance  to  real  architecture  in 


Europe  be- 
gins to  mine 
copper  and 
tin 


Failure  of 
Europe  to 
adv'ance  to 
high  civiHza- 
tion  after 
introduction 
of  metal 


1  For  a  long  time  stone  and  metal  were  used  side  by  side.  In  one  of  the 
lake-villages  of  Switzerland,  preser\^ed  in  a  peat  bog,  three  successive  towns  lie 
one  over  the  other.  Stone  implements  are  found  in  all  three,  but  the  upper  two, 
that  is  the  later  two,  contain  also  objects  of  copper  along  with  those  of  stone. 
wSlowly  stone  gave  way  before  metal,  and  the  ancient  art  of  chipping  fhnt  gradu- 
ally disappeared  as  metal  became  more  plentiful.  We  should  remember,  however, 
that  some  races  still  surviving,  like  the  Bushmen  of  South  Africa  and  the  Aus- 
tralians and  Tasmanians  (p.  2),  continue  at  the  present  day  in  the  use  of  stone, 
and  have  not  yet  learned  to  work  metal  nor  to  make  metal  tools.  Indeed,  even 
in  Europe  certain  stone  implements  lingered  on  in  use  among  the  peasants  of 
the  north  of  Sweden  as  late  as  the  nineteenth  century,  nearly  four  thousand 
years  after  metal  was  introduced  in^  the  Norse  countries.  A  vague  tradition  of 
the  Stone  Age  survived  even  into  Roman  times,  although  by  that  time  the  world 
at  large  had  forgotten  this  long  chapter  in  the  story  of  their  ancestors,  and  the 
stone  axes  which  the  peasants  picked  up  now  and  then  in  the  fields,  they  fancied 
were  thunderbolts  of  the  sky  god. 


ii6 


Outlines  of  lluropcaii  History 


The  iEgean 
world  ;  its 
geographical 
connections 
with  the 
Orient 


_|  '_'';2f^^  Vv'     m- 


% 


Stone,  and  this  failure  to  make  further  progress  in  architecture 
illustrates  their  backwardness  in  all  the  arts  of  civilization.   The 

advance  to  a  high  civilization 
in  Europe  after  the  introduc- 
tion of  metal  —  such  an  ad- 
vance as  we  may  call  real 
historical  progress  —  was 
made  in  the  eastern  Medi- 
terranean, in  the  ^f^>gean 
lands,  under  the  influence 
of  oriental  culture.  It  was 
this  oriental  stimulus  which 
carried  Europe  forward  to 
the  development  of  the  civi- 
lization which  we  have  in- 
herited. 

The  ^gean  world  con- 
sists of  the  islands  of  the 
y^gean  Sea  and  the  lands 
which  surround  this  sea  in 
neighboring  Asia  and  Eu- 
rope, which  here  face  each 
other  across  its  waters.  For 
the  ^gean  world  is  the 
region  where  Asia  thrusts 
for^vard  its  westernmost 
heights  (Asia  Minor)  and 
Europe  throws  out  its  south- 
ernmost and  easternmost 
peninsula  (Greece)  into  the 
waters  so  early  crossed  and 
recrossed  by  Egyptian  ships  (p.  31).  At  the  same  time  the  east 
and  west  valleys  of  Asia  Minor  furnished  roads  for  the  early 
trade  which  linked  the  ^gean  world  with  the  Euphrates  and 
Babylonia.    Thus   the   Stone  Age  settlements  of  the  ^gean 


Fig.  61.   One  of  the  Large  Dec- 
orated   Cretan    Jars,    nearly 
Four     Feet    high,    found    at 
Ancient  Cnossus 

A  fine  example  of  the  originality, 
power,  and  beauty  of  Cretan  decora- 
tive art ;  although  the  leading  design, 
the  lotus  flower,  is  drawn  from  Egypt, 
it  is  treated  in  the  masterly  Cretan 
manner  (see  p.  120) 


The  Mediterranean  Wo7'ld  and  the  Early  Greeks 


region  naturally  became  the  outposts  of  the  great  oriental  civi- 
lizations which  we  have  found  so  early  on  the  Nile  and  the 
Euphrates.  From  these  centers  the  AlgQdcn  world,  at  first  slow 
and  backward  like  western  and  northern  Europe,  received  con- 
tinual impulses  toward 
a  higher  civilization  — 
impulses  felt  in  trade, 
metal-working,  pottery, 
house-building,  and  in 
many  other  ways. 

At  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  Asia  Minor,  con- 
trolling the  profitable 
trade  crossing  from 
Asia  to  Europe  at  this 
point,  stood  the  ancient 
and  highly  prosperous 
y-Egean  city  of  Troy. 
By  2500  B.C.,  some 
centuries  after  it  had 
received  the  first  met- 
als, its  rulers  had  erected 
a  strong  citadel  of  sun- 
baked brick,  with  mas- 
sive stone  foundations, 

the  earliest  fortress  in  the  yEgean  world  (the  Second  City, 
Fig. -58).  Here  they  carried  on  industries  in  pottery,  metal- 
working,  and  textiles,  which  show  wide  foreign-trade  connections. 
Their  kindred  and  neighbors  on  the  east  were  the  Hittites.  In 
the  later  days  of  the  Egyptian  Empire  the  Hittites  themselves 
held  a  great  empire  in  central  and  eastern  Asia  Minor  (Figs.  59, 
60).  They  gave  Egypt  much  trouble  in  Syria,  and  they  early 
invaded  Babylonia  and  Assyria  also  (p.  70). 

Toward  the  east,  then,  the  population  of  Asia  Minor  merged 
gradually  with  the  Tigris- Euphrates  world,  whose  history  we  have 


Fig.  62.    An  Example  of  the  still 
Undeciphered  Early  Cretan  Writ- 
ing INCISED  ON  Clay  (pp.  118,  119) 


.^gean 
peoples  — 
Trojans  and 
Hittites 


i8 


Outlines  of  Ruropcan  Ilistory 


TEgean 
peoples  — 
summary 


Our  igno- 
rance of 
Asia  Minor 
Hittite  writ- 
ing and  its 
decipher- 
ment 


followed  (pp.  56  ff.)  ;  while  in  the  west  other  .^'.gean  kindred  of 
these  Trojan  and  Hittite  peoples  had  their  homes  in  the  /Kgean 
islands,  even  as  far  as  Crete.  Some  of  them,  too,  formed  the 
population  of  Greece,  where  they  were  the  predecessors  of  the 

people  known  to 
us  as  the  Greeks. 
These  predeces- 
sors of  the  Greeks 
in  the  ^^>gean 
world  belonged 
to  a  great  and 
gifted  white  race, 
whose  origin  and 
relationships  with 
other  peoples  are 
still  quite  undeter- 
mined. We  shall 
call  this  race  the 
/Egeans. 

All  of  these 
^gean  peoples 
were  so  long  with- 
out writing,  that 
they  at  first  left 
no  wTitten  monu- 
ments to  tell  us 
their  story;  hence 
the  difficulty  in 
the  disentangling 
of  their  relation- 
ships. Some  time  after  2000  B.C.  the  Hittites  invented  a  system 
of  hieroglyphic  writing  (Fig.  60)  showing  Egyptian  influence, 
which  we  find  inscribed  on  stone  monuments  widely  scattered 
through  Asia  Minor  and  northern  Syria.  Later  they  also  found 
that  their  commerce  with  Babylonia  brought  into  their  hands 


Fig.  63.   Ruins  of  the  Main  Entranxe  to 
THE   Cretan    Palace    at    Cnossus,   built 

ABOUT    1800    B.C. 

It  is  on  the  north  side,  facing  the  harbor  three 
and  a  half  miles  away,  from  which  a  road  leads 
up  to  this  entrance.  Notice  the  heavy  masonry 
of  stone  —  the  only  portion  of  the  palace  built 
for  defense,  the  rest  being  of  sun-baked  brick 


The  Mediterranean  World  and  the  Early  Greeks      1 19 


bills   and   business   documents   written    in    cuneiform   (wedge- 
writing),  on  clay  tablets  (Fig.  37).     They   therefore  began  to 
write  the  Babylonian  cuneiform  also.    Their  capital  in  central 
Asia  Minor  (Fig.  59),  recently  excavated,  has  furnished  great 
numbers  of  such  clay  tablets,  but  they  cannot  yet  be  read. 
\\'hen  they  have  been  deciphered  we  shall  learn  many  of  the 
secrets      of     this 
great  world  of  Asia 
Minor,  which  links 
the   ^gean  with 
the  Asiatic  Orient. 

As  Asia  Minor 
was  the  link  be- 
tween the  ^gean 
on  the  west  and  the 
Euphrates  world 
on  the  east,  so 
Crete  was  the  link 
between  Egypt  on 
the  south  and  the 
^gean  Sea  on  the 
north.  This  large 
island  lies  so  far 
out  in  the  Medi- 
terranean that  one 
is  almost  in  doubt 
whether  it  belongs 

to  Europe  or  Africa.    Even  in  ancient  ships  the  mariners  issu-   importance 
ing  from  the  mouths  of  the  Nile  and  steering  northwestward   ^\q^  of^Cret( 
would  sight  the  Cretan  mountains  in  a  few  days.    Excavations  in 
this  island  since  1900  have  uncovered  the  ruins  of  palace  after 
palace  and  revealed  a  new  chapter  in  the  story  of  the  ancient  world. 

For  a  thousand  years  after  Crete  had  received  copper  her  Advance  of 
people  showed  but  little  sign  of  progress.  While  the  great  pyra-  [n^crete°by 
mids  of  Egypt  were  being  built  (p.  29),  the  Cretan  craftsman   ^°°°  ^•^• 


Fig.  64.  A  Colonnaded  Hall  and  Stair- 
case IN  THE  Cretan  Palace  at  Cnossus 

The  columns  and  roof  of  the  hall  are  modern 
restoration.  The  hall  is  in  the  lower  portion  of 
the  palace,  and  the  stairway,  concealed  by  the 
balustrade  at  the  back  of  the  hall,  led  up,  by  five 
flights  of  fifty-two  massive  steps,  to  the  main 
floor  of  the  palace 


I20 


Ontlijics  of  liuropcan  History 


learned  from  his  Eg}'ptian  neighbor  the  use  of  the  potter's 
wheel  and  the  closed  oven  (p.  35)  for  shaping  and  firing  his 
clay  vases  (Fig.  61).  About  2000  B.C.  the  Cretans  began  a  dis- 
tinct forward  movement  under  the  influence  of  the  great  na- 
tion on  the  Nile.    Commerce  between  the  two  countries  was 


Fig.  65.  Ax  Opex-Air  Theatral  Area  beside  the 
Cretax  Palace  at  Cxossus 

This  area  is  about  thirty  by  forty  feet,  and  on  two  sides  rise  tiers  of 
seats,  accommodating  four  or  five  hundred  spectators.  Open-air  athletic 
spectacles,  like  boxing  matches,  probably  took  place  here  to  divert 
select  groups  of  Cretan  lords  and  ladies ;  the  area  is  not  large  enough 
for  the  bullfights  in  which  the  Cretans  took  great  delight  (compare 
the  exciting  bull-hunt  at  head  of  Chapter  V,  p.  1 1 1 ,  and  footnote,  p.  121) 


constant.  Egyptian  craft  (Fig.  14)  were  a  common  sight  in  the 
Cretan  harbors,  while  the  prevailing  north  wind  of  summer 
easily  carried  the  galleys,  which  the  Cretans  learned  to  build 
on  Egyptian  models,  across  to  the  Nile  Delta. 
Cnossus  At  Cnossus,  near  the  middle  of  the  northern  coast  of  Crete, 
arose  a  prosperous  city,  whose  ruler  was  able  to  build  a  palace 
arranged  in  the  Eg)^ptian  manner,  with  a  large  cluster  of  rooms 


writing 


Cretan  art 


The  Meditcrra7iean  World  and  the  Early  Greeks      1 2 1 

about  a  central  court.  A  similar  palace  also  arose  at  Phsestus 
in  southern  Crete,  perhaps  another  residence  of  the  same  royal 
family.  These  palaces  were  not  castles,  for  neither  they  nor  the 
towns  connected  with  them  were  fortified.  Several  indications, 
like  the  statue  of  an  Eg}'ptian  official  found  under  the  pave- 
ment of  the  oldest  palace  at  Cnossus,  suggest  that  the  Eg)'ptian  Egyptian 
Pharaohs  of  the  Feudal  Age  (p.  42)  may  have  exercised  polit-  jn  Crete 
ical  power  as  well  as  commercial  and  cultural  influence  over 
the  men  of  Crete.  In  the  storerooms  of  the  palace  at  Cnossus 
invoices  scratched  on  clay  tablets  have  been  found  in  great 
numbers.  This  writing  is  a  kind  of  hieroglyphic  clearly  show-  Cretan 
ing  the  influence  of  Eg\'ptian  wTiting ;  but  much  study  has  not 
yet  enabled  scholars  to  decipher  and  read  these  precious  records, 
the  earliest-known  writing  in  the  European  world  (Fig.  62). 

As  the  older  palace  of  Cnossus  gave  way  to  a  more  splendid  Rise  of 
building  (about  1800  B.C.),  the  life  of  Crete  began  to  unfold  in  all 
directions  (Figs.  61-66).  Noble  pottery  (Fig.  61)  was  painted  or 
molded  in  grand  designs  drawn  often  from  the  life  of  the  sea, 
where  Cretan  power  was  already  expanding.  This  painted  pot- 
tery shows  the  most  powerful,  vigorous,  and  impressive  decorative 
art  of  the  early  oriental  world.  The  palace  walls  were  also  painted 
with  fresh  and  beautiful  scenes  from  daily  life,  all  aquiver  with 
movement  and  action  ;  or  they  were  adorned  with  glazed  por- 
celain figures  incrusted  upon  the  surface  of  the  wall.-^  The 
method  of  use  and  the  execution  of  the  work  everywhere  show 
that  this  new  art  was  due  to  suggestion  from  Egypt;  but  in 
spite  of  this  fact  the  powerful  individuality  of  the  Cretan  artist 
did  not  permit  him  to  follow  slavishly  the  Egyptian  model.  His 
work  is  alive  with  his  own  vigor  and  his  own  character. 

Cretan  civilization  culminated  in  the  centur^^  frorn  1600  to 
1500  B.C.,  when  the  sea  power  of  the  Cretan  rulers  was  carrying 

1  The  Cretans  produced  also  the  most  magnificent  metal  work ;  see  the  bull- 
hunt  wrought  in  a  band  around  a  golden  goblet  (at  head  of  Chapter  V,  p.  iii). 
Nothing  could  be  more  vigorous  than  the  charging  bull,  goring  his  pursuers  (at  the 
left).  Two  such  golden  goblets  were  found  at  Vaphio,  near  Sparta,  showing  how 
Cretan  art  at  its  highest  reached  the  southern  mainland  of  Greece  (see  p.  123). 


122 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Culmination 
of  Cretan 
civilization 
(1600- 
1500  B.C.) 


their  influence  and  their  art  far  and  wide  through  the  Mediterra- 
nean. At  the  highest  level  of  their  civilized  development,  however, 
the  kings  of  Crete  were  vassals  of  the  Pharaoh,  and  the  Cretan 
cities  were  not  free.   An  Egyptian  general  of  Thutmose  III  (p.  46) 

bore  the  title  of  "gov- 

7 .  '     r . 


^ 

Fig.  66.    Tile  Drainpipes  from  the 
Cretan  Palace  of  Cnossus 

These  joints  of  pottery  drainpipe  (two  and 
one  half  feet  long  and  four  to  six  inches 
across)  are  part  of  an  elaborate  system  of 
drainage  in  the  palace,  the  oldest  drainage 
system  in  the  European  world.  The  oldest- 
known  system  of  drainpipe  (copper)  is  in 
the  pyramid-temple  of  Abusir,  Egypt  (see 
Fig.  22),  about  a  thousand  years  earlier 
than  this  system  at  Cnossus 


ernor  of  the  islands  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea," 
as  the  Egyptians  called 
the  islands  of  the 
y^gean.  Here,  a  new 
world,  shaking  off  the 
old  Stone  Age  lethargy 
of  early  Europe,  under 
the  magic  touch  of 
riper  Egyptian  culture, 
sprang  into  vigorous 
life.  Beside  the  two 
older  centers  of  civi- 
lization on  the  Nile  and 
the  Euphrates  in  this 
age,  there  thus  arose 
here  in  the  eastern 
Mediterranean,  as  a 
third  great  civilization, 
this  splendid  world  of 
Crete  and  the  ^4^gean 
Sea,  to  carry  us  from 
the  Orient  to  Greece 
and  later  to  Europe.^ 


1  An  interesting  evidence  of  the  transmission  of  oriental  civilization  from  the 
Nile  to  Crete  and  Europe  will  be  found  in  a  scene  carved  on  a  stone  vase  in 
Crete,  about  1800  B.C.  (see  cut,  p.  135).  It  depicts  a  harvest  festival  procession 
in  Crete,  the  men  marching  with  wooden  pitchforks  over  their  shoulders,  and  a 
chorus  of  open-mouthed  singing  youths,  led  by  a  shaven-headed  Egyptian  priest 
with  a  sistrum  (an  Egyptian  musical  rattle)  in  his  hand. 


The  Mediterrmiean  World  and  tJie  Early  Greeks      123 


Section  21.    The  Early  Greeks 

Thus  far  the  islands  had  been  leading  the  civilization  of  the  The  Greek 
^gean  world,  but  the  fleets  of  Egypt  and  Crete  carried  a  bSorelhe 
constant  flow  of  commerce  from  the  islands  to  the  mainland  of   ">"!•"&  of  the 

Greeks ;  the 

Greece.  Massive  strongholds,  with  heavy  stone  masonry  foun-  Mycenaean 
dations,  have  been  excavated  at  Tiryns  (Fig.  67)  and  Mycenae 
(Fig.  68)  in  southern  Greece.^  The  ^^gean  princes  who  built 
these  strongholds  a  little  after  1500  B.C.  imported  works  of 
Cretan  and  Egyptian  art  in  potter)^  and  metal.-^  These  things, 
with  fragments  of  Eg)^ptian  glaze,  still  lying  in  the  ruins,  are  the 
earliest  tokens  of  a  life  of  higher  refinement  as  it  displaced  the 
barbarism  of  the  Stone  Age  on  the  continent  of  Europe.^  But 
the  mainland  still  lagged  behind  the  islands,  for  Cretan  writing 
seems  not  to  have  followed  Cretan  commerce,  and  there  was 
as  yet  no  writing  on  the  continent  of  Europe.  Regions  on  the 
north  of  Greece,  such  as  Thessaly,  were  covered  with  scattered 
settlements  w^hich  had  advanced  but  little  beyond  the  Late  Stone 
Age  civilization  of  the  rest  of  Europe.  Metal  was  not  common 
in  Thessaly  until  about  1500  B.C.  The  cultured  Cretans  had 
little  influence  here  in  the  north,  where  a  hostile  race  w^as 
already  appearing.  As  far  back  as  2000  B.C.  we  see  these  in- 
vaders appearing  behind  the  passes  of  the  Balkan  Mountains. 
These  newcomers  and  not  the  gifted  Cretans  and  their  ^T^gean 
kindred  were  to  possess  the  Greek  peninsula.'* 

The  people  whom  we  call  the  Greeks  were  a  large  group  of 
tribes  of  the  Indo-European  race.     We  have  already  followed 

1  Also  at  Troy,  the  Sixth  City,  the  Homeric  Troy  (Fig.  71). 

2  See  the  relief  on  the  golden  goblet,  a  work  of  Cretan  art,  found  at  \''aphio, 
near  Sparta,  in  southern  Greece  (p.  iii). 

'i  The  discoveries  of  Schliemann  at  Mycenae  were  among  the  first  revela- 
tions of  pre-Greek  art  and  civilization  in  the  .Egean  world.  The  discoveries  in 
Crete  had  not  yet  been  made,  and  the  Cretan  source  of  Mycenaean  art  was  un- 
known. Hence  this  pre-Greek  civilization  of  the  zEgean  is  still  commonly  called 
"  Mycenaean,"  although,  as  we  have  seen,  Mycenae  represents  only  a  late  and 
declining  stage  of  the  high  .Egean  civilization  attained  by  Crete. 

4  The  student  should  here  carefully  reread  pp.  86-SS. 


124 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Fig.  67.    Restoration   of   the    Castle 
AND  Palace  of  Tiryns.  (After   Luck- 

ENBACH) 

Unlike  the  Cretan  palaces,  this  dwelling  of 
an  /Egean  prince  is  massively  fortified.  A  ris- 
ing road  {A)  leads  up  to  the  main  gate  {B), 
where  the  great  walls  are  double.  An  assault- 
ing party  bearing  their  shields  on  the  left  arm 
must  here  (C,  D)  march  with  the  exposed  right 
side  toward  the  city.  By  the  gate  [E)  the  visi- 
tor arrives  in  the  large  court  {F)  on  which  the 
palace  faces.  The  main  entrance  of  the  pal- 
ace [G)  leads  to  its  forecourt  [H),  where  th^ 
excavators  found  the  place  of  the  household 
altar  of  the  king  (p.  144).  Behind  the  forecourt 
{H)  is  the  main  hall  of  the  palace  (/).  This 
was  the  earliest  castle  in  Europe  with  outer  walls 
of  stone.  The  villages  of  the  common  people 
clustered  about  the  foot  of  the  castle  hill.  The 
whole  formed  the  nucleus  of  a  city-state  (p.  130) 
in  the  plain  of  Argos  (see  Plate  11,  p.  180) 


the  scattered  tribes 
of  the  Indo-F^uro- 
pean  parent  people 
until  their  diverging 
migrations  finally 
ranged  them  in  a 
line  from  the  Atlan- 
tic Ocean  to  north- 
ern India  (p.  87 
and  Fig.  49).  While 
their  eastern  kin- 
dred were  drifting 
southward  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Cas- 
pian toward  India, 
the  Greeks  on  the 
west  side  of  the 
Black  Sea  were  like- 
wise moving  south- 
ward from  their 
broad  pastures  along 
the  Danube. 

Driving  their 
herds  before  them, 
with  their  families  in 
rough  carts  drawn 
by  horses,  the  rude 
Greek  tribesmen 
must  have  looked 
out  upon  the  fair 
pastures  of  Thes- 
saly,  the  snowy  sum- 
mit of  Olympus 
(Fig.  69),  and  the 
blue  waters  of  the 


» 


The  Mediterranea7i  World  and  the  Early  Greeks      125 


^gean  not  long  after  200 
they  had  entered  contains 
miles.^  It  is  everywhere 
cut  up  by  mountains  and 
inlets  of  the  sea  into  small 
plains  and  peninsulas,  sepa- 
rated from  each  other 
either  by  the  sea  or  the 
mountain  ridges  (Fig.  87). 
The  Greeks  found  the 
Thessalian  plains  dotted 
with  the  settlements  of 
mud-plastered  wattle  huts, 
the  agricultural  villages  of 
the  Europeans  of  the  Late 
Stone  Age  (p.  123),  while 
the  islands  which  the  new- 
comers could  dimly  discern 
across  the  waters  were  al- 
ready carrying  on  busy  in- 
dustries in  pottery  and 
metal,  which  a  thriving  com- 
merce was  distributing. 
With  a  wonder  like  that 
of  the  North  American  In- 
dians as  they  beheld  the 
first  European  ships,  these 
earliest  Greeks  must  have 
looked  out  upon  the  white 
sails  that  flecked  the  blue 
surface  of  the  ^.gean  Sea. 


o  B.C.     The  Greek  peninsula  which 
about  twenty-five  thousand  square 


7  :(^      ^  ^-^^ 


_     i 


Fig.  68.   The  Main  Entrance  of 

THE  Castle  of  Mycen^,  called 

THE  "  Lion  Gate  " 

A  good  example  of  the  masonry  of  the 
two  Mycenaean  cities  in  the  plain  of 
Argos  (Plate  II  and  map,  p.  146).  The 
gate  is  surmounted  by  a  large  triangu- 
lar relief  showing  two  lions  grouped 
on  either  side  of  a  central  column,  the 
whole  doubtless  forming  the  emblem 
of  the  city,  or  the  "  arms  "  of  its  kings 

It  was  to  be  long,  however,  before 


1  It  is  about  one  sixth  smaller  than  the  state  of  South  Carolina.  The  very 
limited  extent  of  Greece  will  be  evident  if  the  student  notes  that  Mount  Olympus 
on  the  northern  boundary  of  Greece  can  be  seen  over  a  large  part  of  the  peninsula. 
From  the  mountains  of  Sparta  one  can  see  from  Crete  to  the  mountains  north 
of  the  Corinthian  Gulf  (see  Fig.  87),  a  distance  of  two  hundred  twenty-five  miles. 


126 


Outlhies  of  EnropeiDi  History 


Achaeans  in 
Pelopon- 
nesus 


Dorians  in 
Pelopon- 
nesus 


--   ,- 

'    -'^ 

^ 

'  m"- 

m.^,^^^ 

P,i^^^^5.^v^ 

i^;^ 

^^-r  _/_;^4^--  ^^^^a 

B*.  Wfi^A'-'fJW^ 

^^^s^^^^^s^^^^ 

these  inland  shepherds  should  themselves  venture  timidly  out 
upon  the  great  waters  which  they  were  viewing  for  the  first  time. 
Gradually  their  vanguard  (called  the  Achaeans)  pushed  south- 
ward into  Peloponnesus,  and  doubtless  some  of  them  mingled 
with  the  dwellers  in  the  villages  which  were  grouped  under  the 

walls  of  Tiryns  and 
Mycenae  (Figs.  67, 
68, Plate II).  Some 
of  their  leaders 
may  have  captured 
these  yF^gean  for- 
tresses.-^ But  our 
know^ledge  of  the 
situation  in  Greece 
is  very  meager  be- 
cause the  peoples 
here  could  not  yet 
write,  and  have  left 
no  written  docu- 
ments to  tell  the 
stor}\ 

It  is  evident, 
however,  that  a 
second  wave  of 
Greek  nomads 
(called  the  Dori- 
ans) reached  the 
Peloponnesus  by 
1500  B.C.  and  subdued  their  earlier  kinsmen  (the  Achaeans)  as 
well  as  the  yEgean  townsmen,  the  original  inhabitants  of  the 
region.  The  ^geans  slowly  mingled  with  their  Greek  conquer- 
ors, producing  a  mixed  race,  the  people  who  are  known  to  us 
henceforth  as  the  Greeks  of  history.     In  the  names  of  towns, 

1  The  student  will  recall  a  similar  situation,  as  the  incoming  Hebrew  nornads 
took  the  strongholds  of  their  predecessors  in  Palestine  (p.  102). 


Fig.  69. 


Mount  Olympus - 
OF  THE  Gods 


THE  Home 


Although  Mount  Olympus  is  on  the  northern 
borders  of  Greece,  it  can  be  seen  from  Attica 
and  the  south  end  of  Euboea.  It  approaches 
ten  thousand  feet  in  height,  and  looks  down 
upon  Macedonia  on  one  side  and  Thessaly  on 
the  other  (see  map,  p.  146).  As  we  look  at  it  here 
from  the  south,  we  have  a  portion  of  the  plain  of 
Thessaly  in  the  foreground,  where  the  first 
Greeks  entered  Hellas  (p.  124),  and  where  laterthe 
earliest  Homeric  songs  were  composed  (p.  142) 


TJie  Alediterranean  World  ajid  the  Early  G^reks      127 

rivers,  mountains,  and  plants,  the  old  language  of  the  ^geans 
left  its  traces  in  the  Greek  tongue ;  and  doubtless  much  of  the 
supreme  genius  of  the  classical  Greeks  was  due  to  this  admixture 
of  the  blood  of  the  gifted  Cretans,  with  their  open-mindedness 
toward  influences  from  abroad  and  their  fine  artistic  instincts. 

The  Dorians  did  not  stop  at  the  southern  limits  of  Greece,   The  Greeks 
but,  learning  a  litde  navigation  from  their  .^gean  predecessors,   s?on  o?the^' 
they  passed  over  to  Crete,  where  they  must  have  arrived  by  ^Egean  world 
1 400  B.C.    Cnossus,  unfortified  as  it  was,  and  without  any  walled 
castle  (p.  121),  must  have  fallen  an  easy  prey  of  the  invading   Dorians  in 
Dorians,  who  took  possession  of  the  island,  and  likewise  seized   som^hem 
the  other  southern  islands  of  the  ^Zgean.     Between  1300  and   ^^gean 
1000  B.C.  the  Greek  tribes  took  possession  of  the  remaining 
islands,  as  well  as  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  the  Cohans  in  the  ^olians  and 
north,  the  lonians  in  the  middle,  and  the  Dorians  in  the  south,   funher  north 
Thus  during  the  thousand  years  between  2000  and  1000  B.C. 
the  Greeks  took  possession  of  the  entire  ^gean  outpost  of  the 
Orient,  including  the  islands  of  the  ^gean  Sea,  the  coasts  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  the  easternmost  peninsula  of  Europe. 

Driven  from  their  native  harbors  by  the  Greeks,  the  ^Egean  Effect  on 
mariners  fled  and  their  fleets  appeared  in  great  numbers  along 
the  coasts  of  Syria  and  Eg}'pt,  where  they  assisted  in  inflicting 
the  deathblow  on  the  Eg>'ptian  Empire  in  the  twelfth  centur}' 
B.C.  (see  p.  53).  Some  of  them,  expelled  from  Crete,  took  refuge 
on  the  coast  of  Palestine,  and  we  have  already  met  them  as  the 
Philistines  (Fig.  70  and  p.  103).  Thus  the  effect  of  the  advance  PhiUstines 
of  the  Indo-European  line  to  the  Mediterranean  along  its  north- 
ern shores  was  felt  by  the  older  civilizations  of  the  Orient  on 
its  other  shores. 


Section  22.    The  Greek  Citv-States  under  Kings 

In  spite  of  their  seaward  expansion  the  Greeks  were  still  a   The  nomad 
barbarous  people  of  flocks  and  herds.    As  a  race  they  had  not  ^  settled  ufe" 
yet  taken  to  the  water,  and  even  as  late  as  700  B.C.  we  find  their 


128 


Outli)ics  of  European  History 


peasant-poet  Hesiod  looking  with  shrinking  eye  upon  the  sea. 
As  they  took  possession  of  the  more  fertile  districts  of  the 
peninsula,  the  Greek  shepherds  slowly  began  the  cultivation  of 
land.    This  forced  them  to  give  up  a  wandering  life  and  live  in 


Fig.  70.   Philistine  Warriors  —  a  Cretan  Trite  driven 
out  by  the  greeks 

These  men  with  tall,  feathered  headdress  are  depicted  among  the  cap- 
tives taken  by  Ramses  III,  the  last  of  the  Egyptian  emperors  in  the 
twelfth  century  B.C.,  at  a  time  when  he  was  desperately  striving  to  repel 
an  invasion  of  Egypt  by  Mediterranean  peoples,  who  were  being  dis- 
placed by  the  incoming  Greeks  and  therefore  sought  new  homes  in 
Syria,  Palestine,  and  Egypt  (see  p.  53  and  map,  p.  56) 


permanent  homes,  to  watch  over  the  fields  and  gather  the 
harvests.  War  and  care  of  the  flocks  long  continued  to  be 
the  occupation  of  the  men.,  who  at  first  left  the  cultivation  of  the 
field  to  the  womeji,  a  condition  still  found  in  later  times  in  the 
remote  vallevs  of  inner  Greece.    Furthermore,  flocks  and  herds 


The  Mediterranean  World  and  the  Early  Greeks      1 29 

made  up  the  chief  wealth  of  the  Greeks  for  many  centuries 
after  they  had  begun  agriculture. 

Nomad  life  as  we  have  seen  it  along  the  fertile  crescent  in   Earliest 
Asia  (p.  59)  possesses  no  state  government,  for  there  is  no   fnd^socSy 
public  business  which  demands  it.    No  taxes  are  collected,  there   g^J)"^  *^^ 
are  no  officials,  there  are  no  cases  at  law,  no  legal  business,  and   Greeks 
society  is  controlled  by  a  few  customs  like  the  "  blood  revenge," 
which  places  the  punishment  of  the  murderer  in  the  hands  of  the 
injured  family.    Such  was  exactly  the  condition  of  the  nomad 
Greeks  when  they  began  a  settled  life  in  the  ^gean  world. 
From  their  old  wandering  life  on  the  grasslands  they  carried 
with  them  the  loose  groups  of  families  known  as  tribes,  and 
within  each  tribe  an  indefinite  number  of  smaller  groups  of 
more  intimate  families  called  "  brotherhoods." 

A  "  council  "  of  the  old  men  ("  elders  ")  occasionally  decided   Council  and 
matters  in  dispute,  or  questions  of  tribal  importance,  and  prob-      ^^^"^  ^ 
ably  once  a  year,  or  at  some  important  feast,  an  "  assembly  "  of 
all  the  weapon-bearing  men  of  the  tribe  might  be  held,  to  express 
its  opinion  of  a  proposed  war  or  migration.    These  are  the 
germs  of  later  European  political  institutions  and  even  of  our 
own  in  the  United  States  to-day.^    At  some  stage  in  their  early 
career  the  old-time  nomad  leader  in  war,  religion,  and  the  settle- 
ment of  disputes  had  become  a  rude  shepherd  king  of   the 
tribe.    Each  tribe  seems  to  have  gained  such  a  king,  although   King 
a  whole  group  of  tribes  might  occasionally  be  found  under  the 
rule  of  one  king. 

During  the  four  centuries  from  1000  to  600  B.C.  we  see  the   Lack  of 
Greeks  entangled  in  the  problem  of  learning  how  to  transact  ^^^ 
the  business  of  settled  landholding  communities,  and  how  to 
adjust  the  ever-growing  friction  and  strife  between  the  rich  and 
the  poor,  the  social  classes  created  by  the  holding  of  land  and  the 
settled  life.    We  gain  some  idea  of  the  difficulties  to  be  met  as 

1  Compare  the  House  of  Lords(=r  the  above  "council")  and  the  House  of 
Commons  (=  the  above  "assembly")  in  England,  or  the  Senate  (derived  from 
the  Latin  word  meaning  "old  man")  and  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the 
United  States. 


130  Outlines  of  European  History 

a  government  grows  up  slowly  out  of  the  old  wandering  life  on 
the  grasslands,  when  w^e  recall  that  the  transition  had  to  be 
made  without  writing.  There  arose  in  some  communities  a 
"  rememberer,"  whose  duty  it  was  to  notice  carefully  the  terms 
of  a  contract,  the  amount  of  a  loan,  or  the  conditions  of  a  treacy 
with  a  neighboring  people,  that  he  might  remember  these  and 
innumerable  other  things,  which  in  a  more  civilized  society  are 
recorded  in  wTiting. 
Rise  of  the  In  course  of  time  the  group  of  villages  forming  the  nucleus 

city-state  r  ■^  i  1  1  ■  •  r„,  .      .        , 

01  a  tribe  grew  and  merged  at  last  into  a  city.  I  his  is  the 
most  important  process  in  Greek  political  development ;  for  the 
organized  city  became  the  only  nation  w^hich  the  Greeks  knew. 
Each  city-state  was  a  sovereign  power ;  each  had  its  own  laws, 
its  own  army  and  gods,  and  each  citizen  felt  a  patriotic  duty 
toward  his  own  city  and  no  other.  Overlooking  the  city  from 
the  heights  in  its  midst  is  the  king's  castle  (Fig.  67),  which  we 
call  the  "citadel,"  or  "acropolis,"  and  around  the  houses  and  the 
market  below  extends  the  city  wall.  The  king  has  now  become 
a  revered  and  powerful  ruler  of  the  city,  and  guardian  of  the 
worship  of  the  city  gods.  King  and  Council  sit  all  day  in  the 
market  and  adjust  the  business  and  the  disputes  between 
the  people.  These  continuous  sessions  for  the  first  time  create  a 
state  and  an  uninterrupted  government.  To  be  sure  it  is  crude, 
corrupt,  and  often  unjust. 
Rise  of  the  By  fraud,  oppression,  unjust  seizure  of  lands,  union  of  fami- 

"eupatrids"  li^s  in  marriage,  and  many  other  influences,  the  strong  man  of 
ability  and  cleverness  was  able  to  enlarge  his  lands.  Thus  there 
arose  a  class  of  large  landholders  and  men  of  wealth.  Their 
fields  stretched  for  some  miles  around  the  city  and  its  neighbor- 
ing villages.  In  order  to  be  near  the  king  or  secure  member- 
ship in  the  Council  and  control  the  government,  these  men  often 
left  their  lands  and  lived  in  the  city.  After  a  time  they  formed 
a  class  of  hereditary  nobles  called  "  eupatrids."  Such  was  the 
power  of  the  eupatrids  that  the  Council  finally  consisted  only  of 
men  of  this  class.    Wealthy  enough  to  buy  costly  weapons,  with 


The  Mediterranean  World  and  the  Early  Greeks      1 3 1 

leisure  for  continual  exercise  in  the  use  of  arms,  these  nobles 
became  also  the  chief  protection  of  the  state  in  time  of  war. 

Thus  grew  up  a  sharp  distinction  between  the  city  community   Conflict  of 
and  the  peasants  living  in  the  country  —  a  division  altogether  coumry 
unknown  in  the  old  wandering  life  on  the  grasslands,  where 


'oii^li^^ 


slffa 


y 


^^m^ 


Fig.  71.  The  Walls  of  Homeric  Troy,  built  about  1500  b.c. 

A  section  of  the  outer  walls  of  the  Sixth  City  in  the  mound  of  Troy 
(Fig.  58).  The  sloping  outer  surface  of  the  walls  faces  toward  the  right; 
the  inside  of  the  city  is  on  the  left.  These  are  the  walls  built  in  the 
days  when  Mycenae  was  flourishing  —  walls  which  protected  the  old 
/Rgean  inhabitants  of  the  place  from  the  assaults  of  the  Greeks  in  a 
remote  war  which  laid  it  in  ruins  after  1200  B.C.,  a  war  of  which  vague 
traditions  and  heroic  tales  have  survived  in  the  Homeric  poems  (p.  142). 
Schliemann  never  saw  this  Sixth  City,  the  real  Homeric  city,  which 
was  not  excavated  until  after  his  death.  The  walls  of  the  houses  of  the 
Seventh  City  are  visible  here  resting  on  those  of  the  Sixth 

there  were  no  towns.   The  country  peasant  was  obliged  to  divide 

the  family  lands  with  his  brothers.    His  fields  were  therefore   'Jhe  peasant 

small  and  he  was  poor.    He  went  about  clad  in  a  goatskin,  and 

his  labors  never  ceased.    Hence  he  had  no  leisure  to  learn  the 

use  of  arms,  nor  any  way  to  meet  the  expense  of  purchasing 


132 


Otitlijies  of  European  History 


The 

Assembly 
cowed  by 
the  nobles 


The  struggle 
of  the 
peasant  class 


Disunion  of 
the  city-states 


Two  unions 
under  Sparta 
and  Athens 


them.  He  and  his  neighbors  were  of  small  account  in  war. 
When  he  attended  the  Assembly  of  the  people  in  the  city,  he 
found  but  few  of  his  fellows  from  the  countryside  gathered  there 
—  a  dingy  group,  clad  in  their  rough  goatskins.  The  powerful 
Council  in  beautiful  oriental  raiment  was  backed  by  the  whole 
class  of  wealthy  nobles,  all  trained  in  war  and  splendid  in  their 
glittering  weapons. 

Intimidated  by  the  powerful  nobles,  the  meager  Assembly, 
which  had  once  been  a  muster  of  all  the  w^eapon-bearing  men 
of  the  tribe,  became  a  feeble  gathering  of  a  few  peasants  and 
lesser  townsmen,  who  could  gain  no  greater  recognition  of  their 
old-time  right  of  self-government  than  the  poor  privilege  of  vot- 
ing to  concur  in  the  actions  already  decided  upon  by  the  king 
and  the  Council.  The  peasant  returned  to  his  little  farm  and 
was  less  and  less  inclined  to  attend  the  Assembly  at  all.  Indeed, 
he  was  fortunate  if  he  could  struggle  on  and  maintain  himself 
and  family  from  his  scanty  fields.  Many  of  his  neighbors  sank 
into  debt,  lost  their  lands  to  the  noble  class,  and  themselves  be- 
came day  laborers  for  more  fortunate  men,  or,  still  worse,  sold 
themselves  to  discharge  their  debts  and  thus  became  slaves. 
These  day  laborers  and  slaves  had  no  political  rights  and  were 
not  permitted  to  vote  in  the  Assembly. 

There  were  hundreds  of  such  city-states  in  Greece,  and,  of 
course,  the  more  powerful  endeavored  to  seize  the  land  of  the 
weaker  —  a  tendency  resulting  in  frequent  petty  wars,  some  of 
which  continued  for  a  thousand  years  of  intermittent  hostilities 
down  into  Roman  days.  The  country  was  so  cut  up  by  moun- 
tains and  deep  bays  that  the  various  state  communities  were 
quite  separated.  They  thus  developed  local  habits  and  local 
dialects  as  different  as  those  of  North  and  South  Germany,  or 
Brittany  and  Provence,  or  even  more  different  than  those  of 
our  own  Louisiana  and  New  England.  Such  differences  made 
union  difficult.  Only  two  complete  and  permanent  unions  were 
effected  among  the  various  groups  of  Greek  city-states :  one 
under  the  leadership  of  Sparta  in  Laconica  and  the  other  in 


The  Medtterrajiea7i  World  and  the  Early  Gi'eeks      1 3 3 

Attica  under  the  control  of  Athens.  Both  of  these  states,  of 
course,  made  various  endeavors  at  expansion,  as  we  shall  see. 
Loose  groups  of  city-states  elsewhere,  as  in  Thessaly,  arose  here 
and  there,  but  these  alliances  did  not  prove  stable  or  permanent. 

Although  no  political  union  into  a  single  Greek  nation  was   Motives 
possible,  religion  and  commerce  furnished  motives  toward  inti-    ^^^"^ 
mate  relationships.    In  order  that  all  might  have  a  voice  in  the 
management  of  great  temples  or  holy  places  revered  by  all  the 
Greeks,  the  different  city-states  concerned  formed  several  religious   Religious 
councils,  called  "  amphictyonies,"  in  the  membership  of  which  each  ^°"""^'  ^ 
state  had  representatives.    The  most  notable  of  these  were  the 
council  for  the  control  of  the  Olympic  Games,  another  for  the 
famous  sanctuary  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  and  also  the  council  for 
the  great  annual  feast  of  Apollo  in  the  Island  of  Delos. 

For  the  adjustment  of  trade  between  the  states  there  were  only  Trade 
the  most  primitive  arrangements.   A  stranger  sojourning  abroad 
had  no  legal  rights  in  a  foreign  city,  and  could  only  secure  pro- 
tection by  appealing  to  the  old  desert  custom  of  "  hospitality," 
after  he  had  been  received  by  a  friendly  citizen  as  a  guest.    For 
the  reception  of  a  foreigner  who  might  have  no  friend  to  be  his 
host,  a  citizen  was  sometimes  appointed  to  act  as  official  host 
representing  the  city.   A  sentiment  of  unity  also  arose  under  the   Language 
influence  of  the  Homeric  songs  (p.  142)  with  which  every  Greek  toward  unity 
was  familiar  —  a  common  inheritance  depicting  all  the  Greeks 
united  against  the  Asiatic  city  of  Troy  (Fig.  71). 

Such  influences  as  these  led  the  Greeks  to  regard  themselves  Barbarians 
as  a  distinct  body  of  people  closely  bound  together  by  ties  of 
,  race,  language,  customs,  common  traditions,  religion,  and  trade. 
They  called  all  men  not  of  Greek  blood  "  barbarians,"  a  word 
not  originally  a  term  of  reproach  for  the  non-Greeks.  Then  the 
Greek  sense  of  unity  found  expression  in  the  first  all-inclusive 
term  for  themselves.  They  gradually  came  to  call  themselves 
"  Hellenes,"  and  found  pleasure  in  the  belief  that  they  had  all 
descended  from  a  common  ancestor  called  Hellen.  But  it 
should  be  clearly  understood  that  this  new  designation  did  not 


1 34  Outliiics  of  European  History 

define  a  political  nation  of  the  Greeks,  but  only  the  group  of 
Greek-speaking  peoples  or  states,  often  at  war  with  one  another 
as  hostile  nations.  The  most  fatal  defect  in  Greek  character 
was  the  inability  of  these  states  to  forget  their  local  differences 
and  jealousies  and  to  unite  into  a  common  federation  or  great 
nation  including  all  Greeks,^ 

QUESTIONS 

Section  20.  Give  an  account  of  the  Mediterranean :  its  shores, 
extent,  climate,  and  the  early  food  products.  Discuss  the  incoming 
of  metal  in  Europe,  and  the  outgoing  Stone  Age.  Did  Europe  as  a 
tuhole  at  once  advance  to  high  civilization .?  Where  did  the  advance 
begin  and  under  what  influences.''  Give  an  account  of  the  early 
.^gean  and  Asia  Minor  peoples.  Who  were  the  Hittites.'*  Where 
was  their  home?    their  capital  (Fig.  59).? 

Who  were  the  Trojans  and  where  was'their  city.''  Did  the  main- 
land or  the  islands  lead  the  way  in  the  first  great  advance  of  /Egean 
civilization.?  Where  is  Crete  (read  explanation  of  Fig.  87).?  Under 
what  influences  did  Cretan  civilization  advance  "l  Mention  some  ex- 
amples of  this  influence.  What  do  you  know  of  Cretan  art .''  Was  it 
mere  imitation  of  Egypt  ?   When  did  Cretan  civilization  culminate  ? 

Section  21.  Where  did  Cretan  civilization  begin  on  the  main- 
land.'' Did  it  spread  throughout  Greece.''  Give  some  account  of 
civilization  on  the  mainland  of  Greece  v/hen  the  Greeks  came  in. 
To  what  great  race  do  the  Greeks  belong .''  Whence  did  their  ances- 
tors come?  How  did  they  enter  Greece?  Were  they  nomads  or 
townsmen  ?   Who  were  two  of  the  earliest  Greek  peoples  in  Greece  ? 

What  became  of  the  old  pre-Greek  ^gean  people  of  Greece? 
Have  we  found  such  a  situation  anywhere  else?  Whither  did  the 
Greeks  next  go?  What  now  happened  to  Crete?  Who  were  the 
Philistines?    What  ^gean  lands  did  the  Greeks  finally  hold? 

Section  22.  Describe  the  transition  of  the  Greeks  from  nomad 
to  settled  life.  Describe  their  government  and  its  different  institu- 
tions. What  problems  did  their  new  setded  life  create  ?  What  about 
writing  among  them  ? 

1  We  may  recall  here  how  slow  were  the  thirteen  colonies  of  America  to 
suppress  local  pride  sufficiently  to  adopt  a  constitution  uniting  all  thirteen  into  a 
nation.  It  was  local  differences  similar  to  those  among  the  Greeks  which  after- 
ward caused  our  Civil  War, 


The  Mediterranean  World  and  the  Early  Greeks      1 3  5 

Describe  the  rise  of  the  Greek  city.  What  is  a  city-state  ?  Who 
were  the  eupatrids?  How  did  they  gain  power?  What  then  happened 
to  the  peasant  in  the  city-state?  How  did  he  and  the  Assembly  lose 
power?  What  were  the  relations  of  these  city-states  to  each  other? 
What  two  unions  early  took  place  ?  What  were  the  influences  toward 
a  union  of  all  Greek  city-states  ?  Did  a  feeling  of  union  result  in  a 
single  political  nation  uniting  all  Greeks? 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  AGE  OF  THE  NOBLES  AND  THE  TYRANTS 
IN  GREECE 

Section  23.  Civilization  in  the  Age  of  the  Nobles 


The  over- 
throw of 
the  kings 


The  old  royal 
citadel  be- 
comes the 
place  of  the 
State  temples 


We  have  seen  how  the  noble  class  and  the  Council  which  it 
controlled  had  finally  shorn  the  popular  Assembly  of  its  power. 
The  same  nobles  not  only  thus  crushed  the  people  below  but 
they  also  slowly  undermined  the  power  of  the  ki?tg  above.  In 
the  century  between  750  and  650  B.C.  the  kingship  quite  gen- 
erally disappeared,  and  the  leader  of  the  State  became  an  elective 
officer  chosen  for  a  year.^  At  Athens  he  was  termed  "  archon," 
or  "  ruler."  With  the  disappearance  of  the  king  the  royal  castle 
(Fig.  67)  was  vacated.  As  it  fell  into  decay  the  old  holy  places 
and  shrines  which  it  protected  were  still  cherished,  but  they 

1  A  noticeable  exception,  however,  was  Sparta,  where  the  Assembly  of  the 
people  still  retained  its  power.  The  voting  citizens  forming  the  Assembly  be- 
came a  military  class,  controlling  a  large  body  of  slaves  and  other  nonvoters  in 
neighboring  communities.  Thus  the  whole  body  of  voting  citizens  became  a 
superior  class,  who  were  really  nobles.  This  class  did  not  depose  the  king  but 
checked'his  power  by  maintaining  Uvo  kings  at  once,  and  by  the  appointm.ent 
of  administrative  officers  who  held  some  of  the  privileges  formerly  enjoyed  by 
the  king. 

136 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  and  the  Tyrants  in  Greece      137 

were  gradually  transformed  into  temples.  Thus  on  the  citadel 
at  Athens,  there  had  been  a  palace  of  the  old  king  Erechtheus. 
The  little  shrine  of  Athena  in  this  palace  later  became  a  temple 
of  the  goddess,  called  the  "  Erechtheum,"  ^  after  the  old  king. 
In  this  way  the  castle  of  the  ancient  Attic  kings  was  followed 
by  the  famous  temples  of  Athens  on  the  citadel  mount.  Acrop- 
olis (Fig.  91  and  Plate  III). 

During  the  centuries  of  social  and  political  ferment  which   Beginnings 
brought  forth  a  noble  class  and  placed  them  in  power,  the  civiliza-  igation\nT 
tion  of  the  ^gean  world  had  undergone  great  changes.    The   commerce 
open-minded  and  clever  Greek  had  meantime  learned  from  his 
^-Egean  predecessors  many  of  the  arts  which  had  so  highly  devel- 
oped in  the  days  of  Cretan  splendor.    Iron  had  become  common 
after   1000  b.c.  and  had  deeply  influenced  all  industry.     The 
^^gean  waters  gradually  grew  familiar  to  the  Greek  communi- 
ties, until  they  proved  a  far  easier  line  of  communication  than 
a  road  through  the  same  number  of  miles  of  forest  and  mountain. 

Especially  important  and  rich  was  the  traffic  between  the  Greek 
cities  of  the  Asiatic  coast  on  the  east  and  Attica  and  Euboea 
on  the  European  side.    Among  the  Asiatic  Greeks  it  was  the   Commercial 
Ionian  cities  which  led  in  this  commerce.    The  ships  used  by   j^e  lonians° 
all  were  open,  undecked  craft  accommodating  about  fifty  oarsmen. 
The  Greek  trader  was  met  by  sharp  competition  in  the  hands 
of  Phoenician  mariners  and  merchants,  who  were  common  in   Phoenicians 
these  waters  since  Cretan  days.    Once  dwellers  in  the  desert, 
like  the  Hebrews  and  other  Semites,  the  Phoenician  townsmen 
along  the  Syrian  coast  (see  Fig.  72  and  map,  p.  56)  early  took 
to  the  sea  and  became  clever  navigators.     They  gained  a  foot- 
hold in  Cyprus  and  thence  sailed  into  the  ^gean.    The  Phoeni- 
cian craftsman  of  Tyre  or  Sidon  was  a  clever  imitator.    He 
received  the  patterns  and  the  methods  of  the  older  oriental  civi- 
lizations, especially  Egypt  and  Assyria,  and  easily  employed  them 

1  The  porch  of  the  Erechtheum,  supported  by  figures  of  beautiful  maid- 
ens, will  be  found  as  headpiece  of  this  chapter.  The  situation  of  the  building 
on  the  Acropolis  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  91,  at  the  extreme  left  (east)  end  of  the 
Parthenon. 


138 


Outlines  of  European  History 


for  his  own  gains.  Great  Phoenician  platters  of  metal  with  rich 
Eg\'ptian  designs/  fine  linens  and  purple  raiment,  Egyptian  glass 
and  porcelain,  —  all  things  which  the  Greek  craftsman  could 
not  yet  equal,  —  these  made  the  Phoenician  galley  a  welcome 
sight  in   ever\^   harbor  of   Greece.     As   Crete   once  kept  the 


Fig.  72.  A  Glimpse  along  the  Coast  of  Phcenicia 

The  mountain  at  the  right  is  Carmel,  and  we  look  northward  across  the 
harbor  of  Akko  toward  Tyre  and  Sidon.  From  these  harbors  sailed  the 
Phoenician  ships  which  became  so  familiar  to  the  early  Greek  settlers 

in  Hellas 

^geans  in  close  connection  with  the  Orient,  so  now  the  Phoeni- 
cians played  the  same  part  for  the  Greeks.  The  work  of  the 
Phoenician  craftsmen  spread  widely  and  became  proverbial  in 
Greece,  appearing  often  in  the  Homeric  songs  (p.  142).  The 
influence  of  such  work  gave  to  early  Greek  crafts  a  decidedly 
oriental  character,  which  continued  for  a  long  time. 

1  The  flat,  round  dish  of  pure  silver  shown  at  the  end  of  this  chapter  (p.  165) 
is  a  good  example  of  such  work  as  done  in  Egypt.  The  design  shows  a  marsh  as  a 
circle  of  water  around  the  center,  with  plentiful  vegetation,  and  four  Egyptian 
boats  bearing  a  picnic  party. 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  and  the  Tyrants  in  Greece      1 39 

The  Greek  now  received  from  the  Phoenician  a  priceless  gift,  The  Greeks 
far  more  vahiable  than  all  the  manufactured  wares  of  the  Orient.  phSnkian 
This  new  gift  was  an  alphabet.  Until  long  after  1000  B.C.  the  ^^P^abet 
Greek  was  as  unable  to  write  as  he  had  been  on  the  grasslands 
of  inner  Asia  fifteen  hundred  years  earlier.  The  Orient,  how- 
ever, as  we  have  seen  (pp.  21,  62),  had  been  writing  for 
several  thousand  years.  The  Phoenician  merchant  had  by  this 
time  long  abandoned  the  inconvenient  Babylonian  clay  tablet 
(p.  62).  About  1000  B.C.  he  or  his  kinsmen  had  developed  an 
alphabet  of  twenty-two  consonants  but  still  without  any  signs 
for  the  vowels^  (p.  71).  For  several  centuries  the  Phoenicians 
of  the  city  of  Byblos  had  been  importing  the  Egyptian  papyrus 
paper  (p.  22),  on  which  they  wrote  with  their  new  alphabet.^ 
The  Greek  merchant,  thumbing  the  bits  of  papyrus  bearing  the 
Phoenician  tradesman's  written  list  of  goods,  finally  learned  the 
alphabet  in  which  it  was  written,  and  slowly  began  to  note  down 
Greek  words  in  the  same  way.  Here  the  Greek  soon  displayed 
his  usual  mental  superiority ;  for,  finding  signs  for  certain  Phoe- 
nician sounds  which  did  not  occur  in  Greek  and  were  there- 
fore superfluous  to  him,  he  used  these  signs  for  the  Greek 
voivels  and  thus  perfected  the  first  complete  system  of  alpha-  Greek  in 
betic  writing.  It  slowly  spread  among  the  Greek  states,  begin-  oenician 
ning  in  Ionia.  It  long  remained  only  a  convenience  in  business 
and  administration.    For  centuries  the  nobles,  unable  to  read   European 

.....  ,  .  continent 

or  write,  regarded  writing  with  misgivings.  The  Homeric  songs 
(p.  142),  which  were  at  first  not  written  but  were  handed  down 
orally  from  generation  to  generation,  speak  of  the  "  deadly 
signs  "  used  in  writing.  But  even  the  painters  of  pottery  jars  had 
learned  to  use  it  by  700  B.C.,  when  we  find  it  on  their  decorated 
vases  (compare  Fig.   75).     Shortly  after  this  it  was  common 

1  They  probably  devised  it,  by  adaptation  from  Egyptian  signs,  or  at  least 
under  their  influence. 

2  It  is  important  to  notice  that  all  the  alphabets  of  western  Asia  and  all  the 
alphabets  of  European  countries,  including  our  own  alphabet,  are  descended 
from  this  old  Phoenician  alphabet.  The  student  should  recall  its  adoption  by  the 
Arameans  (p.  71)  and  its  spread  eastward  under  the  Persians  (p.  98). 


letters ;  the 
earliest 
writing  on 


I40 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Earliest 
books  in 
Europe 


Athletic 
games 


among  all  classes.^  Literature,  nevertheless,  long  remained  an 
oral  matter  and  was  much  slower  than  business  to  resort  to 
writing. 

The  Greeks  often  called  the  Egyptian  paper,  brought  in  by 
the  Phoenicians,  byblosf  after  the  name  of  the  Phoenician  city 
by  way  of  which  it  came.  Thus  when  they  began  to  write  books 
on  rolls  of  such  paper  (Fig.  104)  they  called  them  biblia.  It  is 
from  this  term  that  we  received  our  word  "  Bible "  (literally 
"  book  "  or  "  books  "),  and  hence  the  English  word  "  Bible," 
once  the  name  of  a  Phoenician  city,  is  a  living  evidence  of  the 
origin  of  books  and  the  paper  they  are  made  of,  in  the  ancient 
Orient,  from  which  the  Greek  received  so  much. 

There  was  now  wide  intercourse  among  the  Greek  states ; 
the  constant  commingling  of  their  interests,  the  ebb  and  flow  of 
their  material  life,  developed  and  refined  the  Greek  mind.  The 
life  which  the  Hellenes  now  led  was  much  richer  and  more 
highly  developed  than  that  of  their  rude  nomad  ancestors.  The 
contests  in  feats  of  arms  and  athletic  games  with  which  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  honor  the  burial  of  a  hero  in  earlier 
days  finally  came  to  be  practiced  at  stated  seasons  in  honor  of 
the  gods.  As  early  as  776  B.C.  such  contests  were  celebrated 
as  public  festivals  at  Olympia.  Repeated  every  four  years, 
they  eventually  aroused  the  interest  and  participation  of  all 
Greece.  Later,  similar  contests  were  also  established  elsewhere 
(Figs.  81,  82).  Various  Greek  states  offered  money  prizes  to 
the  victors,  and  the  winners  were  regarded  as  having  gained 
undying  fame  both  for  themselves  and  the  fortunate  cities  to 
which   they   belonged.     They   were    finally   celebrated  by   the 


1  Few  Greek  inscriptions  now  surviving  are  as  early  as  the  seventh  century 
B.C.  The  earliest  inscription  dated  with  precision  belongs  a  little  after  600  B.C. 
The  written  Hst  of  victors  in  the  Olympian  games  went  back  to  776  B.C. 

2  As  far  as  I  know  this  remark  is  new ;  but  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Egyp- 
tians were  exporting  papyrus  paper  to  Byblos  by  the  12th  century'  B.C.,  it  is 
evident  that  the  Greeks  called  it  byblos  because  they  received  it  from  there,  as 
we  call  stuff  from  Damascus,  "  damask,"  and  from  Calcutta,  "  calico."  Another 
Greek  word  for  Egyptian  paper  was  "  papyros,"  hence  our  word  "  paper " 
(see  p.  23,  note  i). 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  mid  the  Tyrants  iii  Greece      14 1 


greatest  poets,  an  honor  which  led  the  noble  class  to  spend 
much  of  their  time  in  manly  exercises. 

In  art  there  had  been  distinct  decay  in  the  ^Egean  with  the  Early  Greek 
incoming  of  the  Greeks.  The  art  of  the  Cretan  palaces  which 
the  Dorians  had  sent  up  in  smoke  and  flame  long  surpassed 
anything  the  Greek  could 
produce.  Echoes  of  it  sur- 
vived on  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor,  where  they  were 
finally  received  by  the  Ionian 
Greeks.^  But  for  a  long  time 
the  early  Greeks  fell  under 
the  influence  of  the  oriental 
art  imported  in  such  abun- 
dance in  the  works  of  the 
Phoenician  craftsman.  Greek 
sculpture  had  hardly  begun 
to  produce  rude  figures ; 
painting  was  confined  to  the 
decorative  efforts  of  the 
craftsman,  like  the  work  of 
the  painter  of  pottery  jars. 
There  was  no  great  archi- 
tecture, for  the  State  em- 
ployed only  the  simplest 
buildings  of  sun-baked  brick, 
and  the  earliest  Greek  tem- 
ples were  merely  houses, 
like  those  of  private  citizens, 
consisting  of  a  square  room  built  of  sun-baked  brick,  with  a 
wooden  roof  and  timbers,  and  a  porch  across  the  front  with 
woodern  posts  supporting  it. 

It  was  in  literature  that  Greek  genius  achieved  its  first  great  Literature 
triumph  in  this  age  of  the  disappearing  kingship  and  the  rule 
of  the  nobles.     In  the  pastures  of  Thessaly  where  the  singer 


Fig.  73.   Ax  Ideal  Portrait  of 
Homer 

This  head,  from  the  Boston  Museum 
of  Fine  Arts,  is  a  noble  example  of 
the  Greek  sculptor's  ability  to  create 
an  ideal  portrait  of  a  poet  whom  he 
had  never  seen.  Such  work  was  un- 
known in  the  archaic  days  of  Greece; 
it  was  produced  in  the  Hellenistic 
Age  (p.  232) 


142  Otitlines  of  European  Hisfofy 

looked  up  at  the  cloud-veiled  summit  of  Mount  Olympus  (Fig.  69), 
The  hero  the  home  of  the  gods,  there  grew  up  a  group  of  songs  telling 
songs  many  a  story  of  the  feats  of  gods  and  heroes.  Into  these  songs 

were  woven  also  vague  memories  of  remote  wars  which  had 
actually  occurred.    By    1000  B.C.  these  songs   had  crossed   to 
the    coasts  and  islands   of   Ionia  on  the   Asiatic  side  of  the 
T^gean  Sea. 
The  Ionian  Here  arose  a  class  of  professional  bards  who  graced  the 

singers  feasts  of  king  and  noble  with  songs  of  battle  and  adventure  re- 

cited to  the  music  of  the  harp.  Framed  in  exalted  and  ancient 
forms  of  speech,  and  rolling  on  in  stately  measures,^  these 
heroic  songs  resounded  through  many  a  royal  hall  —  the  oldest 
literature  born  in  Europe.  After  the  separate  songs  had  greatly 
increased  in  number,  they  were  finally  woven  together  by  the 
bards  into  a  connected  whole  —  a  great  epic  cycle  especially 
clustering  about  the  traditions  of  the  Greek  expedition  against 
Troy.  They  were  not  the  work  of  one  man,  but  a  growth  of 
several  centuries  by  generations  of  singers,  some  of  whom  were 
still  living  even  after  700  B.C.  It  was  then  that  they  were  first 
written  down. 
Homer  Among  these  ancient  singers  there  seems  to  have  been  one 

of  great  fame  whose  name  was  Homer  (Fig.  73).  His  reputa- 
tion was  such  that  the  composition  of  the  whole  cycle  of  songs, 
then  much  larger  than  it  now  is,  was  attributed  to  him.  Then 
as  the  Greeks  themselves  later  discerned  the  impossibility'  of 
Homer's  authorship  of  them  all,  they  credited  him  only  with 
Iliad  and  the  Iliad,^  the  story  of  the  Greek  expedition  against  Troy  ;  and 
the  Odyssey,  or  the  tale  of  the  wanderings  of  the  hero  Odysseus 
on  his  return  from  Troy.  These  are  the  only  two  series  of 
songs  that  have  entirely  survived,  and  even  the  ancient  world 
had  its  doubts  about  the  Homeric  authorship  of  the  Odyssey. 
These  ancient  bards  not  only  gave  the  world  its  greatest  epic 

1  These  were  in  hexameter  ;  that  is,  six  feet  to  a  line.  This  Greek  verse  is  the 
oldest  literary  form  in  Europe. 

2  So  named  after  Ilium,  the  (ireek  name  of  Troy. 


Odyssey 


The  Age  of  the  N'obles  and  the  Tyrmtts  in  Gi-eece      143 

in  the  Iliad,  but  they  were,  moreover,  the  earliest  Greeks  to  put 
into  permanent  literary  form  their  thoughts  regarding  the  world 
of  gods  and  men.  At  that  time  the  Greeks  had  no  other  sacred 
books,  and  the  Homeric  songs  became  the  veritable  Bible  of 
Greece.  They  gave  to  the  disunited  Greeks  a  common  litera- 
ture and  the  inspiring  belief  that  they  had  once  all  taken  part 
in  a  common  war  against  Asia.  But  the  heroic  world  of  glori- 
ous achievement  in  which  the  vision  of  these  early  singers 
moved,  passed  away,  and  with  it  passed  their  art. 

The  Homeric  singers  never  refer  to  themselves ;  they  never  Hesiod  and 
speak  of  their  own  lives,  but  retire  behind  the  stirring  pictures  cry  for  soda; 
of  heroic  adventure  which  absorb  their  thought  and  completely  pstice  m 
occupy  them  with  the  lives  of  their  heroes  who  had  died  long, 
long  before.  But  now  the  problems  of  the  present  begin  to 
press  hard  upon  the  minds  of  men ;  the  peasant  farmer's  dis- 
tressing struggle  for  existence  (see  p.^  132)  makes  men  conscious 
of  very  present  needs.  Their  own  lives  become  a  great  and 
living  theme.  The  voices  that  once  chanted  the  hero  songs  die 
away,  and  now  we  hear  the  first  voice  raised  in  Europe  on  be- 
half of  the  poor  and  humble.  Hesiod,  an  obscure  farmer  under 
the  shadow  of  Mount  Helicon  in  Boeotia,  sings  of  the  dreary 
and  hopeless  life  of  the  peasant  —  of  his  own  life  as  he  struggles 
on  under  a  burden  too  heavy  for  his  shoulders.  We  even  hear 
how  his  brother  Persis  seized  the  lands  left  by  their  father,  and 
then  bribed  the  judges  to  confirm  him  in  their  possession. 

It  is  not  a  little  interesting  to  observe  that  this  earliest  pro-  Social  forces 
test  against  the  tyrannies  of  wealthy  town  life  is  raised  at  the 
very  moment  when  across  the  corner  of  the  Mediterranean  the 
once  nomad  Hebrews  are  passing  through  the  same  experience 
(see  p.  104).  The  voice  of  Hesiod  raising  the  cry  for  social 
justice  in  Greece  sounds  like  an  echo  from  Palestine.  We  should 
notice  also  that  in  Palestine  the  cry  for  social  justice  resulted 
finally  in  a  religion  of  brotherly  kindness,  whereas  in  Greece  it  re- 
sulted in  democratic  institutions,  the  rule  of  the  people  who  refused 
longer  to  submit  to  the  oppressions  of  the  few  and  powerful. 


144  Outlines  of  European  History 

Early  reii-  Homer  was   the   religious   teacher  of   the   Greeks,   for  the 

Greeks     ^       Homeric  songs  brought  vividly  before  them  the  world  of  the 

gods.    In  this  Homeric  world  the  gods  have  become  human, 

Influence  of     and  act  like  men.    Of  course  they  possess  more  power  than 

songs ^"^^"^    mortals,  and  at  the  same  time  they  enjoy  the  gift  of  immortality 

which  raises  them  high  above  the  world  of  men.    Each  god  has 

The  gods  and   a  kingdom  and  a  function  of  his  own.    Zeus  rules  the  sky ; 

omains   j^^Qj^yg^g  brings  forth  the  vine,  and  the  goddess  Demeter  the 

wheat,  from  the  earth  which  both  control ;   Poseidon  rules  the 

sea ;  Athena  with  shining  weapons  glories  in  war ;  Apollo  with 

his  golden  arrows  is  the  deadly  archer  of  the  gods,  and  Hermes 

of  the  winged  feet  is  their  messenger ;    Hera  is  protectress 

Their  human    of  marriage,  and  Aphrodite  the  goddess  of  love.    They  show 

defects 

decidedly  human  defects  of  character;  they  practice  all  sorts 
of  deceit  and  display  many  other  human  frailties. 
The  hereafter       Nor  do  the  gods  demand  anything  better  in  the  character  of 
men,  for  at  death  all  men  go  to  a  gloomy  world  of  spirits  be- 
neath the  earth  (Hades),  where  no  distinction  is  made  between 
good  and  bad.    As  a  special  favor  of  the  gods,  the  heroes  are 
at  last  endowed  with  immortality  and  permitted  to  enjoy  a  life 
of  endless  bliss  in  the  beautiful  Elysian  Fields  or  the  Islands 
of  the  Blest  somewhere  in  the  Far  West,  toward  the  unexplored 
Altars  and       occan.    The  altars  of  the  gods  were  at  first  always  set  up  under 
temp  es  ^^  Q^Qr\  sky  ^  without  any  sheltering  roofs,  as  we  should  expect 

among  tribes  of  wandering  shepherds.  But  the  settled  life  had 
brought  permanent  shrines  in  the  royal  castle,  and,  when  the 
castle  was  vacated  by  the  king  (p.  136),  these  shrines  became 
temples,  dwelling  houses  of  the  gods,  made  like  the  dwellings  of 
men.  The  citadel  mount  was  thus  transformed  into  the  sacred 
inclosure  of  the  gods,  like  the  Acropolis  of  Athens  (Fig.  91). 

1  See  the  altar  in  the  forecourt  of  the  prehistoric  castle  of  Tiryns  (Fig.  67). 


145 


146 


Outlines  of  Emvpeaji  History 


Section  24.    Greek  Expansion  in  the  Age  of 
THE   Nobles 


Greek  colo- 
nies in  the 
Black  Sea 


Greek  colo- 
nies in  the 
east  —  south- 
em  Asia 
Minor  and 
Cyprus 


Cyprus 


Egypt  and 
Cyrene 


Discovery  of 
the  west 


The  oppressive  rule  of  the  nobles,  and  the  resulting  impover- 
ishment of  the  peasants,  was  an  important  influence,  leading  the 
■Greek  farmers  to  seek  new  homes  and  new  lands  beyond  the 
-^gean  world.  Greek  merchants  were  not  only  trafficking  with 
the  northern  v^gean,  but  their  vessels  had  penetrated  the  great 
northern  sea,  which  they  called  the  "  Pontus,"  known  to  us  as  the 
Black  Sea  (see  map,  p.  1 46).  Their  trading  stations  among  the 
descendants  of  the  Stone  Age  peoples  in  these  distant  regions 
offered  to  the  discontented  farmers  of  Greece  plenty  of  land 
with  which  to  begin  life  over  again.  Before  600  b.c.  they  girdled 
the  Black  Sea  with  their  towns  and  settlements,  but  no  such 
development  of  Greek  genius  took  place  in  this  harsher  climate 
of  the  north  as  we  shall  find  in  the  ^gean.  The  Pontus  became 
the  granary  of  Greece  but  never  contributed  anything  to  its 
higher  life. 

In  the  easi",  along  the  southern  coasts  of  Asia  Minor,  there 
were  already  maritime  peoples  in  possession  ;  but  Greek  expan- 
sion in  this  direction  was  stopped  by  the  Assyrian  Sennacherib 
(p.  72)  when  he  defeated  a  body  of  Greeks  in  Cilicia  about 
700  B.C.,  in  the  earliest  collision  between  the  Hellenes  and  a 
great  power  of  the  Tigris- Euphrates  world.  At  the  eastern  end 
of  the  Mediterranean,  Greek  colonists  absorbed  nearly  all  of 
the  large  Island  of  Cyprus,  which  long  remained  the  eastern- 
most outpost  of  the  Greek  world.  In  the  south  they  found  a 
friendly  reception  in  Egypt,  where  they  were  permitted  to  estab- 
lish a  trading  city  at  Naukratis  (Mistress  of  Ships),  the  prede- 
cessor of  Alexandria.  West  of  the  Delta  also  they  eventually 
founded  Cyrene. 

It  was  the  unknown  west,  however,  which  became  the  America 
of  the  early  Greek  colonists.  Many  a  Columbus  pushed  his  ship 
into  this  strange  region  of  mysterious  dangers  on  the  distant 
borders  of  the  world,  where  the  heroes  were  believed  to  live  in 


THE 

ANCIENT  GREEKWORLD 

IN  EUROPE.  ASLV  MINOR  .\ND  THE 
AEGEAN  ISLANDS 

26  Longilude  East  from  Greenwich    28 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  and  the  Tyrants  in  Greece      147 

the  Islands  of  the  Blest.  But  step  by  step  the  dreaded  regions 
were  explored.  Flourishing  cities  like  Corinth,  in  trading  with 
the  western  coast  of  Greece,  pushed  northward,  where  the  sea- 
men could  discover  the  shores  of  Italy  as  they  looked  westward 
toward  the  heel  of  that  great  peninsula.  It  was  indeed  but  fifty 
miles  distant  from  the  west  coast  of  Greece.  When  they  had 
once  crossed  to  it,  their  trading  ventures  carried  them  on  coast- 
ing voyages  around  Sicily  and  northward  far  into  the  west,  at 
last  even  to  the  then  unknown  shores  which  we  call  the  French 
and  Spanish  coasts.  Here  was  a  new  world.  Its  discovery  was 
as  momentous  for  the  Greeks  as  that  of  America  for  later  Europe. 

By  750   B.C.  their  colonies  appeared  in  this  new  western   Greek  colo- 
world,  and  within  a  century  they  fringed  southern  Italy  from  wes\!!!south- 
the  heel  to  a  point  well  above  the  instep  north  of  Naples,  which  ^^'^  ^^^^^ 
was  also  a  Greek  colony  known  as  "  Neapolis,"  or  "  New  City," 
like  our  Newburgh  or  Newtown.    So  numerous  were  the  Greek 
settlements  that  this  region  of  southern  Italy  came  to  be  known 
as  "  Great  Greece."  ^    Here  the  Greek  colonists  looked  north- 
ward to  the  hills  crowned  by  the  rude  settlements  which  were 
destined  to  become  Rome.    They  little  dreamed  that  this  insig-   Rome 
nificant  town  would  yet  rule  the  world,  making  even  the  proud 
cities  of  their  homeland  its  tributaries.    As  the  Greeks  were 
superior  in  civilization  to  all  the  other  dwellers  in  Italy,  the  civ- 
ilized history  of  that  great  pefii?isula  begins  with  the  advent  of  the 
Helle?ies.   They  first  brought  in  such  things  as  writing,  literature, 
architecture,  and  art  (see  headpiece  of  Chapter  VII,  p.  166). 

The  Greek  colonists  crossed  over  also  to  Sicily  (Fig.  74),   sicilyand 
where  they  drove  out  the  Phoenician  trading  posts  except  at  ^"^^  ^^^  ^^'^^* 
the  western  end  of  the  island,  and  there  the  Phoenicians  held 
their  own.   These  Greek  colonists  in  the  west  shared  in  the 
higher  life  of  the  homeland ;   and  Syracuse,  at  the  southeast 


1  One  of  the  oldest  of  all  Greek  temples  now  surviving  stands  in  a  wonderful 
state* of  preservation  on  the  Italian  coast  south  of  Naples  at  the  ancient  Posei- 
donia  (Poseidon's  town),  afterward  called  Paestum.  It  was  built  about  500  B.C. 
(see  the  drawing  at  head  of  Chapter  VII,  p.  166). 


148 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Racial 
aspects  of 
ancient  colo- 
nization in 
the  Medi- 
terranean 


corner  of  the  Island  of  Sicily,  became  at  one  time  the  most 
cultivated,  as  well  as  the  most  powerful,  city  of  the  Greek  world. 
At  Massilia  (Marseilles),  on  the  coast  of  later  France,  the  western 
Greeks  founded  a  town  which  controlled  the  trade  up  the  Rhone 
valley;  and  they  reached  over  even  to  the  Mediterranean  coasts 
of  Spain,  attracted  by  the  silver  mines  of  Tartessus. 

Thus,  under  the  rule  of  the  eupatrids,  the  Hellenes  expanded 
till  they  stretched  from  the  Black  Sea  along  the  north  shore  of 
the  Mediterranean  almost  to  the  Atlantic.  In  this  imposing 
movement  we  recognize  a  part  of  the  far  outstretched  western 
wing  of  the  Indo-European  line  (see  p.  87) ;  but  at  the  same 
time  we  discover  that  the  Semite  has  also  taken  to  the  water, 
and  in  the  Phoenician  Empire  of  Carthage,  reaching  from  Sicily 
along  the  northern  coast  of  Africa  even  to  the  Atlantic  coast 
of  Spain,  the  Semite  has  likewise  flung  out  his  western  wing 
along  the  southern  Mediterranean,  facing  the  Indo-European 
peoples  on  the  north} 


Section  25.    The  Industrial  and  Commercial 
Revolution 


Growth  of 
Greek  com- 
merce and 
industry 


The  remarkable  colonial  expansion  of  the  Greeks,  together 
with  the  growth  of  industries  in  the  home  cities,  led  to  profound 
changes.  The  new  colonies  not  only  had  needs  of  their  own,  but 
they  also  made  connections  with  the  inland,  behind  which  opened 
up  extensive  regions  of  Europe  as  a  market  for  Greek  wares. 
The  home  cities  at  once  began  to  meet  this  demand  for  goods 
of  all  sorts.  The  Ionian  cities  led  the  way  as  usual,  but  the 
islands  also,  and  finally  the  Greek  mainland,  felt  the  new  im- 
pulse. Ere  long  the  great  commercial  fleets  of  the  Hellenes  were 
threading  their  way  along  all  the  coasts  of  the  northern,  western, 
and  southeastern  Mediterranean,  bearing  to  distant  communities 
Greek  metal  work,  woven  goods,  and  pottery.    They  brought 

1  The  diagram  (Fig.  49)  should  be  carefully  studied  again  at  this  point, 
especially  the  west  end.    Compare  the  diagram  with  map  of  Roman  Empire. 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  and  the  Tyrants  in  Greece      149 


back  either  raw  materials  and  foodstuffs,  such  as  grain,  fish,  and 
ambe;-,  or  finished  products  like  the  magnificent  utensils  in  bronze 
from  the  cities  of  the 
Etruscans  in  north- 
ern Italy  (p.  246  and 
Fig.  107).  At  the 
yearly  feast  and  mar- 
ket on  the  Island 
of  Delos  the  Greek 
householder  found  the 
Etruscan  bronzes  of 
the  West  side  by  side 
with  the  gay  carpets 
of  the  Orient,  j 

To  meet  the  in- 
creasing demands  of 
trade  the  Greek  crafts- 
man was  obliged  to  en- 
large his  small  shop, 
once  perhaps  only 
large  enough  to  sup- 
ply the  wants  of  a 
single  estate.  Unable 
to  find  the  necessary 
workmen,  the  propri- 
etor who  had  the 
means  bought  slaves, 
trained  them  to  the 
work,  and  thus  en- 
larged his  little  stall 
into  a  factory  with  a 
score  of  hands.  Hence- 
forth industrial  slave  labor  became  an  important  part  of  Greek  life. 

Athens  entered  the  field  of  industry  much  later  than  the  Ionian 
cities,  but  when  she  did  so,  she  won  victories  not  less  decisive 


International 
market  on 
the  island 
of  Delos 


Fig.  t^.    An  Athenian  Painted  Vase 
OF  THE  Early  Sixth  Century  b.c. 

This  magnificent  work  (over  thirty  inches 
high)  was  found  in  an  Etruscan  tomb  in  Italy 
(see  map,  p.  245),  whither  it  had  been  exported 
by  the  Athenian  makers  in  the  days  of  Solon 
(pp.  1 55  ff.).  It  is  signed  by  the  potter  P>go- 
timos,  who  gave  the  vase  its  beautiful  shape, 
and  also  by  the  painter  Clitias,  whose  skillful 
hand  executed  the  sumptuous  painted  scenes 
extending  in  bands  entirely  around  the  vase. 
These  decorations  represent  the  final  eman- 
cipation of  the  Greek  painter  from  oriental 
influences,  so  marked  before  this  time,  and 
the  triumph  of  his  own  imagination  in  depict- 
ing scenes  from  Greek  stories  of  the  gods 
and  heroes.  On  the  wide  distribution  of  the 
works  of  these  two  artists  see  pp.  1 50-1 51 


ISO 


Outlines  of  Europe aji  History 


than  her  later  triumphs  in  art,  literature,  philosophy,  or  war. 

Expansion  of   Her  factories  must  have  assumed  a  size  quite  unprecedented  in 

the  Greek  world,  for  of  the  painted  Greek  vases  —  discovered 


Athenian 
commerce 


S^£lS|g^^^\^ 


Fig.  76.    The  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  the  Link  between  the 
Peloponnesus  and  Northern  Greece 

The  observer  stands  on  the  hills  south  of  ancient  Corinth  (out  of  range 
on  the  left)  and  looks  northeastward  along  the  isthmus,  on  both  sides 
of  which  the  sea  is  visible.  On  the  left  (west)  we  see  the  tip  of  the  Gulf 
of  Corinth  (see  map,  p.  146),  and  on  the  right  (east)  the  Saronic  Gulf. 
The  commerce  across  this  isthmus  from  the  Orient  to  the  West  made 
the  Gulf  of  Corinth  an  important  center  of  traffic  westward,  and  Cdrinth 
early  became  a  flourishing  commercial  city.  Through  this  sole  gateway  of 
the  Peloponnesus  (see  map,  p.  1 46)  passed  back  and  forth  for  centuries  the 
leading  men  of  Greece,  and  especially  the  armies  of  Sparta,  some  sixty 
miles  distant  (behind  the  observer).  The  faint  white  line  in  the  middle  of 
the  isthmus  is  the  modern  canal  —  a  cut  from  sea  to  sea,  about  four  miles 
long  and  nearly  two  hundred  feet  deep  at  the  crest  of  the  watershed 

by  excavation  —  which  are  signed  by  the  artist,  about  half  are 
found  to  have  come  from  only  six  factories  at  Athens.  It  is  not 
a  little  impressive  at  the  present  day  to  see  the  modern  excavator 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  and  the  Tyrants  in  Greece      1 5  I 


opening  tombs  far  toward  the  in- 
terior of  Asia  Minor  and  taking  out 
vases  bearing  the  signature  of  the 
same  Athenian  vase-painter  whose 
name  you  may  also  read  on  vases 
dug  out  of  the  Nile  Delta  in  north- 
ern Africa,  or  taken  from  tombs  in 
cemeteries  of  the  Etruscan  cities  of 
Italy  (Fig.  75).  We  suddenly  gain  a 
picture  of  the  Athenian  craftsman  and 
merchant  in  touch  with  a  vast  com- 
mercial domain  extending  far  across 
the  ancient  world. 

Soon  the  ship- 
builder, responding 
to  the  growing  com- 
merce, began  to  build 
craft  far  larger  than 
the  old  "  fifty-oar " 
galleys  of  the  Ho- 
meric Age.  The  new 
"  merchantmen  "were 
driven  by  sails,  an 
Eg}'-ptian  invention  of 
ages  before  (Fig.  14). 
They  were  so  large 
that  they  could  no 
longer  be  drawn  up 
on  the  strand  as 
before ;  sheltered  har- 
bors were  neces- 
sary, and  for  the  first 
time  in  history  the 
anchor  appeared.  The 
protection     of     such 


Fig.  T].    Specimex\s  illustrating  the 
Beginning  of  Coinage 

These  are  rough  lumps  of  silver,  as  long  before 
used  in  the  Orient  (pp.  38,  67),  flattened  by 
the  pressure  of  the  stamp.  Gradually  they 
became  round,  and  the  stamp  itself  was  finally 
made  round  instead  of  square,  as  in  these 
early  examples.  /,  both  sides  of  a  Lydian 
coin  (p.  98)  (about  550  B.C.);  .?,  both  sides  of 
a  coin  of  the  Greek  island  of  Chios  (500  B.C.), 
showing  how  the  Greeks  followed  the  Lydian 
model  (/) ;  j,  both  sides  of  a  Carian  coin  of 
Cnidus  (650-550  B.C.),  an  example  of  the 
square  stamp ;  4,  both  sides  of  a  coin  of 
Athens  (sixth  century  B.C.),  bearing  head 
of  goddess  Athena  and  an  owl  with  olive 
branch  (square  stamp).  The  inscription  is 
an  abbreviation  of  "  Athens  " 


152 


Outlijics  of  European  History 


Corinth  and 
decked  war- 
ships 


Introduction 
of  coinage 


Rise  of  a 

capitaUstic 

class 


merchant  ships  demanded  more  effective  warships,  and  the  dis- 
tinction arose  between  a  "  man-o'-war,"  or  battleship, ,  and  a 
"  merchantman."  Corinth  (Fig.  76),  an  older  commercial  center 
than  Athens,  boasted  the  production  of  the  first  decked  warships, 
a  great  improvement,  giving  the  warriors  above  more  room 
and  better  footing,  and  protecting  the  oarsmen  below.  The  latter 
were  arranged  in  three  rows,  three  men  on  the  same  bench,  each 
man  wielding  an  oar,  and  thus  the  power  of  an  old  "  fifty-oar" 
could  be  multiplied  by  three  without  essentially  increasing  the 
size  of  the  craft.  These  innovations  were  all  in  common  use  by 
500  B.C.  With  their  superior  equipment  on  the  sea,  the  Hellenes 
were  soon  beating  the  Phoenicians  in  the  Mediterranean  markets, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  Greek  craftsmen  had  not  only  broken 
away  from  the  leading  strings  of  the  Orient,  but  were  already 
showing  superiority  in  many  lines  of  industry  and  art. 

The  Ionian  cities,  which  enjoyed  important  commerce  with 
the  peoples  of  inner  Asia  Minor,  besides  receiving  the  Babylonian 
system  of  weights  and  measures,^  began  to  use  the  precious 
metals  in  making  business  payments.  The  metals  were  first  used 
in  bars  and  rods  of  a  given  weight,  as  had  been  the  custom  in 
the  Orient  for  thousands  of  years  before  (pp.  38,  67).  When  the 
kings  of  Lydia  late  in  the  seventh  century  B.C.  began  to  cut  up 
these  bars  into  small  pieces  of  a  fixed  weight,  and  to  stamp  these 
pieces  with  some  symbol  of  the  king  or  state,  we  have  the  earliest 
coined  money  (Fig.  77,  j).  The  Ionian  cities  were  soon  using 
this  new  convenience,  and  it  quickly  passed  thence  to  the  islands 
and  the  European  Greeks  (Fig.  77,2-4').  It  rapidly  became  a 
powerful  influence  in  Greek  society. 

Wealth  had  formerly  consisted  of  land  and  flocks,  but  now 
men  began  to  accumulate  capital  in  money ;  loans  were  made, 
and  the  use  of  interest  came  in  from  the  Orient.  The  developing 
industries  and  the  commercial  ventures  on  the  seas  rapidly  created 

1  This  system  has  60  as  a  basis  and  underlies  also  the  division  of  the  circle  (360°) 
which  we  have  inherited.  The  smaller  subdivisions  of  GreeJ^  weights  were  on  a 
decimal  system  derived  from  Egypt. 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  and  the  Tyrants  in  Greece      i  5  3 

fortunes  among  a  class  before  obscure.  There  arose  a  prosper- 
ous industrial  and  commercial  middle  class  who  demanded  a  voice 
in  the  government.  At  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  B.C. 
even  a  noble  like  Solon  could  say,  "  Money  makes  the  man." 


Section  26.    Rise  of  the  Democracy  and  the 
Age  of  the  Tyrants 

While  the  prosperous  capitalistic  class  was  thus  arising,  the   Decline  of 
ccindition  of  the  peasant  on  his  lands  grew  steadily  worse.    His  and  thrcon> 
fields  were  dotted  with  stones,  each  the  sign  of  a  mortgage.   The  j"g  °^  J^f, 
wealthy  creditors  were  foreclosing  these  mortgages  and  taking 
the  lands  ;  and  the  unhappy  owners  were  being  sold  into  foreign 
slavery,  or  were  fleeing  abroad  to  escape   such  bonds.    The 
eupatrids  in  control  did  nothing  as  a  class  to  improve  the  situa- 
tion.   They  were  usually  divided  among  themselves  into  hostile 
factions,  however,  and  in  time  able  leaders  among  them  placed 
themselves  at  the  head  of  the  dissatisfied  people  in  real  or  feigned 
sympathy  with  their  cause.    In  this  way  such  a  leader  of  the 
nobles  was  able  to  gain  the  support  of  the  people,  and  thus  to 
overcome  and  expel  his  own  rivals  among  the  noble  class  and 
gain  control  of  the  State. 

Such  a  ruler  was  in  reality  a  king ;  but  the  new  king  differed   The  "  tyrant " 
from  the  kings  of  old,  in  that  he  had  no  royal  ancestors  and  had   opinFon  of 
seized  the  control  of  the  State  by  violence.    The  people  did  not   ^'^  °^^^ 
reverence  him  as  of  ancient  royal  lineage,  and  while  they  may 
have  feit  gratitude  to  him,  they  felt  no  loyalty.    The  position  of 
such  a  ruler  always  remained  insecure.    The  Greeks  called  such 
a  man  a  "  tyrant,"  which  was  not  at  that  time  a  term  of  reproach 
as  it  is  with  us.    The  word  "  tyranny  "  was  merely  a  term  for 
the  high  office  held  by  such  a  ruler.    Nevertheless  the  instinctive 
feeling  of  the  Greeks  was  that  they  were  no  longer  free  under 
such  a  prince,  and  the  slayer  of  a  tyrant  was -regarded  as  a  hero 
and  savior  of  the  peopler~l 


154 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Earliest 
written  codes 
of  law 


One  of  the  fancied  remedies  for  their  wrongs  which  the  people 
had  long  demanded  was  the  putting  of  the  recognized  laws  into 
writing  (Fig.  78).  Hitherto  all  law,  so  long  ago  reduced  to  writ- 
ing in  the  Orient  (see  Fig.  42^  had  been  a  matter  of  oral  tradition 


'■^r^mi 


Fig.  78.  Ruins  of  the  Ancient  Courthouse  of  Gortyna  and 
THE  Early  Greek  Code  of  Laws  engraved  on  its  Walls 

This  hall  at  Gortyna  in  Crete,  dating  from  the  sixth  century  B.C.,  was  a 
circular  building  about  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  across,  which  served 
as  a  courthouse.  If  any  citizen  thought  himself  unjustly  treated,  he  could 
appeal  to  the  great  code  engraved  in  twelve  columns  on  the  inside  of 
the  stone  wall  of  the  building.  It  covers  the  curved  surface  of  the  wall 
for  about  thirty  feet,  but  extends  only  as  high  as  would  permit  it  to  be 
read  easily.  It  forms  the  longest  Greek  inscription  now  surviving.  This 
code  shows  a  growing  sense  of  justice  toward  a  debtor  and  forbids  a 
creditor  to  seize  a  debtor's  tools  or  furniture  for  debt ;  this  illustrates 
the  tendency  among  the  Greeks  in  the  age  of  Solon  (p.  155) 


and  custom  in  Greece.  It  was  easy  to  twist  such  law  to  favor 
the  man  who  gave  the  judge  the  largest  present,  just  as  the  judge 
did  for  Persis  when  he  swindled  his  brother  Hesiod  out  of  their 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  and  the  Tyrants  m  Greece      i  5  5 

father's  lands  and  secured  them  himself  (see  p.  1 43).  After  a  long 
struggle  the  Athenians  secured  such  a  written  code,  arranged  by 
a  man  named  Draco  about  624  b.c.  It  was  an  exceedingly  severe 
code,  so  severe,  in  fact,  that  the  adjective  "  Draconic  "  has  passed 
into  our  language  as  a  synonym  for  "  harsh."  It  did  nothing  to 
relieve  the  agricultural  class,  and  the  mortgage  stones  in  the  - 
Attic  grain  fields  were  no  fewer  than  before. 

The  situation  in  Athens  was  much  complicated  by  hostilities   Foreign  com- 
with  neighboring  powers  like  Megara,  ^^gina,  and  Sparta.    The   Athens"^  ° 
merchants  of  Megata  had  seized  the  Island  of  Salamis  (Fig.  86), 
overlooking  the  port  of  Athens,  while  a  little  further  south  was 
another   commercial   rival  in  the   little   Island  of  ^gina  (see 
map,  p.  1 46).   The  loss  of  Salamis  and  the  failure  of  the  eupatrids 
to  recover  it  aroused  intense  indignation  among  the  Athenians. 
Then  a  man  of  the  old  family  to  which  the  ancient  kings  of 
Athens  had  belonged,  a  wealthy  noble  named  Solon,  who  had   Rise  of  Solon 
increased   his  wealth  by  many  a  commercial  venture   011   the 
seas,  roused  his  countr)'men  by  fiery  verses,  calling  upon  the 
Athenians  not  to  endure  the  shame  of  such  a  loss.   Salamis  was   Recovery  of 
recovered,  and  Solon  gained  great  popularity  with  all  classes  of   "^^"^'^ 
Athenians. 

The  verses  of  Solon  (which  in  a  later  day  when  the  Greeks  Solon  elected 
had  begun  to  write  prose  would  have  taken  the  form  of  political  reforms 
speeches)  pictured  the  distressing  condition  of  the  Attic  people 
with  startling  effect.  The  result  was  Solon's  election  as  archon 
(p.  136)  in  594  B.C.  He  was  given  full  power  to  remedy  the  evil 
conditions.  To  save  the  peasants,  he  declared  void  all  mortgages 
on  land  and  all  claims  of  creditors  which  endangered  the  liberty 
of  a  citizen.  Furthermore,  citizens  who  had  been  sold  into  foreign 
slavery  to  satisfy  such  claims  Solon  repurchased  at  the  cost  of 
the  State,  and  they  returned  as  free  men  to  Attica.  But  Solon 
was  a  true  statesman,  and  to  the  demands  of  the  lower  classes 
for  a  new  apportionment  of  lands  held  by  the  eupatrids  he  would 
not  yield.  He  did  however  set  a  limit  to  the  amount  of  land 
which  a  noble  might  hold. 


156 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Fig.  79.  Monument  of  j  mi:  1  \  kant- 
Slayers   of    Athens,    Harmodius 

AND    ArISTOGITON 

On  the  slopes  of  the  Areopagus  (see 
plan,  p.  173,  and  Fig.  91)  overlooking  the 
market  place,  the  Athenians  set  up  this 
group,  depicting  at  the  moment  of  attack 
the  two  heroic  youths  who  lost  their  lives 
in  an  attempt  to  slay  the  two  sons  of 
Pisistratus  and  to  free  Athens  from  the 
two  tyrants  (514  B.C.)  (p.  157).  The  group 
was  carried  off  by  the  Persians  after  the 
battle  of  Salamis ;  the  Athenians  had 
another  made  to  replace  the  first  one. 
It  was  afterward  recovered  in  Persia  by 
Alexander  or  his  successors  and  restored 
to  its  old  place  where  both  groups  stood 
side  by  side.  Our  illustration  is  an  an- 
cient copy  in  marble,  probably  reproduc- 
ing the  later  of  the  two  groups 


Further,  he  proclaimed 
a  constitution  which  gave 
all  but  the  v&[y  lowest 
classes  a  voice  in  the 
control  of  the  State.  It 
was  not  democratic,  for  it 
recognized  an  aristocracy 
of  wealth  in  the  place  of 
the  old  aristocracy  of 
birth..  There  were  three 
political  classes  according 
to  income.  Only  the  men 
who  belonged  to  the  first 
class,  with  the  largest  in- 
come (five  hundred  meas- 
ures of  grain,  or  of  oil 
and  wine  together),  could 
hold  the  highest  offices 
in  the  State;  but  the 
humblest  free  craftsman 
could  vote  in  the  As- 
sembly of  the  people. 
Otherwise,  the  estab- 
lished institutions  were 
little  changed  by  Solon. 
He  left  also  a  written 
code  of  law  by  which  all 
free  men  were  for  the 
first  time  given  equal 
rights  in  the  courts.  Some 
of  these  laws  have  de- 
scended to  our  own  time 
and  are  still  in  force. 

Solon  is  the  first  great 
Greek  statesman  of  whom 


The  Age  of  the  N'obles  aiid  the  lyrants  in  Greece      1 5  7 

we  obtain  an  authentic  picture,  chiefly  through  those  poems  of 
his  which  have  survived  to  our  day.  The  leading  trait  of  his 
character  was  moderation,  combined'  with  unfailing  decision. 
When  all  expected  that  he  would  assume  permanent  authority 
over  the  Athenian  State  and  make  himself  "  tyrant "  at  the  end 
of  his  official  term,  he  laid  down  his  archonship  without  a 
moment's  hesitation  and  left  the  city  for  several  years,  to  give 
his  constitution  a  fair  chance  to  work. 

Solon  saved  Attica  from  a  great  social  catastrophe,  and  it  was  Pisistratus 
chiefly  due  to  his  wise  reforms  that  Athens  achieved  her  indus-  tyrants^  o?"^' 
trial  and  commercial  triumphs.  But  his  work,  though  it  deferred  ^^^^"^ 
the  humiliation,  could  not  save  the  Athenian  State  from  sub- 
jection to  the  tyrant.  After  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  seize 
the  government,  Pisistratus,  a  member  of  one  of  the  powerful 
eupatrid  families,  returned  from  exile  and  gained  control  of  the 
Athenian  State.  He  ruled  with  great  sagacit)^  and  success,  and 
many  of  the  Athenians .  gave  him  sincere  allegiance.  But  his 
two  sons,  Hippias  and  Hipparchus,  though  able  men,  were  un- 
able to  overcome  the  prejudice  against  a  ruler  on  whom  the 
people  had  not  conferred  authority.  One  of  the  earliest  exhi- 
bitions of  that  love  of  the  State  which  we  call  patriotism  is  the 
outburst  of  enthusiasm  at  Athens  when  two  youths,  Harmodius 
and  Aristogiton  (Fig.  79),  at  the  sacrifice  of  their  own  lives, 
struck  down  one  of  the  tyrants  (Hipparchus).  Hippias,  the 
other  one,  was  eventually  obliged  to  flee.  Thus,  shortly  before 
500  B.C.,  Athens  was  freed  from  her  tyrants. 

The  people  were  now  able  to  gain  new  power  against  the  The  reforms 
eupatrids  by  the  efforts  of  a  noble  friendly  to  the  lower  classes, 
named  Clisthenes.  He  broke  up  the  old  tribal  divisions  of  blood 
and  established  purely  local  lines  of  division,  so  cleverly  adjusted 
that  city  and  countr}^  communities  were  combined  to  form  part 
of  each  tribe.  This  gave  the  country  communities  an  equal 
chance  with  the  city.  Moreover  the  development  of  tactics 
of  war  under  the  leadership  of  the  Spartans  had  produced 
close  masses  of  spearmen,  each  mass  (phalanx)  remaining  an 


158 


Outlifies  of  Europea7t  History 


Rise  of  the 
phalanx ;  dis- 
appearance 
of  the  indi- 
vidual cham- 
pion 


impenetrable  unit  throughout  the  battle.  Against  such  infantry, 
the  horsemen  or  the  individual  champions  of  ancient  times,  al- 
ways men  of  the  noble  class,  were  powerless.  Thus  the  demand 
for  the  ordinary  citizen  in  the  army  much  increased  the  impor- 
tance and  power  of  the  people  in  the  State  as  over  against  the 
eupatrids.  The  new  tribal  divisions  of  Clisthenes  were  also  the 
military  divisions  of  the  country,  and  again,  as  in  the  old  nomad 
days,  citizenship  and  the  bearing  of  arms  in  defense  of  the  State 
were  more  closely  identified.  In  the  Assembly  of  the  people 
and  on  the  field  of  battle  the  townsman  and  the  country  peasant 
henceforth  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder. 

In  order  to  avoid  the  rise  of  a  new  tyrant,  Clisthenes  estab- 
lished a  law  that  the  people  might  once  a  year  by  vote  declare 
any  prominent  citizen  dangerous  to  the  State  and  banish  him 
for  ten  years.  On  the  day  appointed  for  the  voting  a  citizen 
had  only  to  pick  up  one  of  the  pieces  of  broken  potter}-  lying 
about  the  market  place,  write  upon  it.  the  name  of  the  citizen 
to  be  banished,  and  deposit  it  in  the  voting  urn.  As  such  a  bit 
of  pottery  was  called  an  "  ostracon  "  (Fig.  88),  to  "  ostracize  " 
a  man  (literally  to  "  potsherd "  him)  meant  to  interrupt  his 
political  career  by  banishment.  Although  the  men  of  five  hun- 
dred measures'  income  (seep.  156)  were  still  the  only  ones  to 
whom  the  office  of  archon  and  the  other  high  offices  were  open, 
Attica  had  now  (about  500  B.C.)  gained  a  form  of  government 
giving  the  people  a  high  degree  of  power,  and  the  State  was  in 
large  measure  a  democracy. 

Although  a  tyrant  here  and  there  survived,  especially  in  Asia 
Minor,  Greece  at  this  time  passed  out  of  the  Age  of  the  Tyrants. 
As  a  group,  the  leaders  of  this  age  made  an  impression  upon 
the  mind  of  the  people  which  never  entirely  disappeared.  They 
were  the  earliest  statesmen  in  Greece,  if  not  in  histor}^,  and 
some  of  them  were  led  by  high-minded  motives  in  their  control 
of  the  Greek  states.  The  people  loved  to  quote  their  sayings, 
such  as  "  Know  thyself,"  a  proverb  which  was  carved  over 
the  entrance  of  the  Apollo  temple  at  Delphi ;  or  Solon's  wi.se 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  and  the  Tyrants  in  G7'eece      i  59 

maxim,  "  Overdo  nothing."  There  came  to  be  collections  of 
such  sayings,  and  the  most  famous  of  the  men  of  the  age  were 
grouped  together  as  the  "  Seven  Wise  Men."  ^ 


Section  27.  Civilization  in  the  Age  of  the  Tyrants 

The  Age  of  the  Tyrants  was  a  period  of  unprecedented  prog-  Architecture 
ress  among  the  Hellenes,  in  industries,  in  commerce,  and  in  the  ^"  ^^"  ^  ^^^ 
higher  life  which  we  call  civilization.  The  old  sun-baked  brick 
and  wooden  temples  were  replaced  by  structures  of  limestone, 
and  the  front  of  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi  was  even 
clothed  with  marble,  but  the  building  was  painted  in  colors  as 
before.  Sculpture  adorned  the  temple  front,  the  statues  of  the 
gods  being  in  human  form  and  showing  strong  influences  from 
the  Orient,  especially  Egypt.  Not  only  religion  but  patriotism 
also  found  its  voice  in  art,  as  shown  by  a  noble  group  repre- 
senting the  two  youths  who  endeavored  to  free  Athens  from  the 
tyranny  of  the  sons  of  Pisistratus  (see  p.  157  and  Fig.  79), 

The  tyrants  loved   music  and  it  w^as  much   cultivated.    A   Music 
system  of  writing  musical  notes,  meaning  for  music  what  the 
alphabet  means  for  literature,  now  arose.   The  flute  was  a  favor- 
ite  instrument,  and  one  musician   even  wrote   a  composition 
for  the  flute  which  was  intended  to  tell  the  story  of  Apollo's 
fight  with  the  dragon  of  Delphi.    In  literature  the  old  heroic   Literature 
meter  of  the  Homeric  poems,  with  its  six  feet,  was  abandoned 
for  less  stately  and  monotonous  forms  of  verse.    From  serious 
discussions  in  verse  like  those  of  Solon  (p.  155),  the  poets  passed   The  new 
to  the  expression  of  momentar}-'  moods,  longings,  dreams,  hopes, 
and  fiery  storms  of  passion.    Each  in  his  way  found  a  wondrous 
world  within  himself  \M\i\c\i  he  thus  pictured  in  short  songs. 

The  Homeric  songs  were  the  impersonal  voice  of  an  age  as  a 
whole  ;  but  now  these  new  songs  reveal  inner  experiences  of  the 

1  The  list  of  the  Seven  Wise  Men  is  as  follows  :  Solon  of  Athens,  Periander 
of  Corinth,  Chilon  of  Sparta,  Thales  of  Miletus,  Pittacus  of  Mitylene,  Bias  of 
Priene,  and  Cleobulus  of  Lindus. 


i6o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Sappho  individual  singers.    Among  tiiem  the  poetess  Sappho  was  the 

earliest  woman  to  gain  undying  fame  in  literature.    In  Sicily 


So.|..«Sth..c,A, 


Stesichorus 


Fig.  8o.    Ruins  of  the  Hall  of  the  "  Mysteries  "  at  Eleusis 

Very  little  of  the  building  survives  ;  remnants  of  the  columns  once 
supporting  the  roof  are  seen  on  the  left ;  on  the  right  are  the  seats  cut 
from  the  solid  rock,  on  which  the  initiates  (p.  162)  sat  while  watching 
the  sacred  ceremonies  of  the  "  Mysteries,"  the  spring  and  autumn 
feasts  celebrated  here.  Especially  at  the  autumn  feast,  after  five  days' 
preparation,  multitudes  came  out  from  Athens,  seventeen  miles  distant, 
along  the  Sacred  Way,  and  spent  five  days  more  here  at  Eleusis.  Em- 
blems of  the  undying  life  of  the  earth,  like  heads  of  grain,  displayed  at 
these  ceremonies,  suggested  the  immortal  life  promised  to  all  initiates 
(compare  the  similar  Osirian  beliefs,  pp.  27-28).  In  the  distance  we  see 
the  Bay  of  Eleusis  and  beyond  it  the  heights  of  the  northern  part  of  the 
Island  of  Salamis  (Fig.  86  and  map,  p.  146) 

the  poet  Stesichorus  developed  a  kind  of  country  festival  songs 
(the  dithyramb),  sung  by  peasant  choruses  as  they  marched  in 
procession  at  many  a  picturesque  harvest  or  spring  feast.  These 
songs  told  the  stories  of  the  gods  from  the  old  myths.    They 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  a7td  the  Tyrants  in  Gi'eece      i6i 


were  sung  responsively  by  chorus  and  leader,  and  the  leader 
illustrated  with  gestures  the  story  told  in  the  song.  He  thus 
became  the  fore- 
runner of  the  actor 
in  a  play,  and  in 
Athens,  not  long 
after,  such  songs 
led  to  the  drama 
actually  presented 
in  a  theater  (Fig. 

94)- 

Such  literature 
reveals  the  pro- 
found changes  in 
the  religion  of  this 
age — changes  due 
to  the  growing  dis- 
crimination be- 
tween right  and 
wrong.  Men  could 
no  longer  believe 
that  the  gods  led 
the  evil  lives  pic- 
tured in  the  Ho- 
meric songs.  Ste- 
sichorus  had  so 
high  an  ideal  of 
womanly  fidelity 
that  he  could  not 
accept  the  tale  of 
the  beautiful  Hel- 
en's faithlessness, 

and  in  his  festival  songs  he  told  the  ancient  stor)^  in  another 
way.    Men  now  felt  that  even  Zeus  and  his  Olympian  divinities   New  power  of 

,  ,        ,  J.  moral  feeling 

must  do  the  right.     Mortals  too  must  do  the  same;   for  men 


Fig.  8i.   View  over  the  Valley  anu 
Ruins  of  Delphi  to  the  Sea 

This  splendid  gorge  in  the  slopes  of  Mount  Par- 
nassus on  the  north  side  of  the  Corinthian  Gulf 
(see  map,  p.  146)  was  very  early  sacred  to  Apollo, 
who  was  said  to  have  slain  the  dragon  Pytho 
which  lived  here.  The  white  line  of  road  in  the 
foreground  is  the  highway  descending  to  the 
distant  arm  of  the  Corinthian  Gulf.  On  the  left 
of  this  road  the  cliff  descends  sheer  a  thousand 
feet,  and  above  the  road  (on  its  right)  on  the 
steep  slope  are  the  ruins  of  the  sacred  buildings 
of  ancient  Delphi,  excavated  by  the  French  in 
recent  years.  We  can  see  the  zigzag  "f oad  lead- 
ing up  the  hill  among  the  ruins  just  at  the  right 
of  the  main  road  (compare  also  Fig.  82) 


l62 


Outlines  of  European  History 


"  Mysteries" 
at  Eleusis 


Oracles 


Greek 
thought  in 
the  Age  of 
the  Tyrants ; 
Thales  of 
Miletus,  and 
the  earliest- 
predicted 
eclipse 

(585   B.C.) 


had  now  come  to  believe  that  in  the  world  of  the  dead  there 
was  punishment  for  the  evil-doer  and  blessedness  for  the  good. 

In  the  temple  at  Eleusis  (Fig.  80)  scenes  from  the  mysteri- 
ous earth  life  of  Demeter  and  Dionysus,  to  whom  men  owe  the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  are  presented  by  the  priests  in  dramatic  form 
before  the  initiated,  and  he  who  views  them  may  be  received  into 
the  Islands  of  the  Blessed,  where  once  only  the  ancient  heroes 
were  admitted.  Even  the  poorest  slave  is  permitted  to  enter 
this  fellowship  and  be  initiated  into  the  "  Mysteries,"  as  they 
were  called.  More  than  ever,  also,  men  now  turned  to  the  gods 
for  a  knowledge  of  the  future  in  this  world.  Everywhere  it  was 
believed  that  the  oracle  voice  of  Apollo  revealed  the  outcome  of 
every  untried  venture,  and  his  shrine  at  Delphi  (Figs.  81,  82) 
became  a  national  religious  center,  to  which  the  whole  Greek 
world  resorted. 

On  the  other  hand,  some  thoughtful  men  began  to  reject  the 
beliefs  of  the  earlier  day  regarding  the  world  and  its  control  by 
the  gods.  When  Thales  of  Miletus,  from  his  study  of  the  Baby- 
lonian astronomical  lists  (p.  84),  correctly  predicted  an  eclipse 
of  the  sun  in  the  year  585  B.C.  and  boldly  proclaimed  that  the 
movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies  were  due  not  to  the  whims 
of  the  gods  but  to  fixed  laws  of  nature,  he  banished  the  gods 
from  a  whole  world  of  their  former  domain.  Likewise,  when  the 
Greeks  learned  of  the  enormous  age  of  the  oriental  peoples, 
especially  of  the  Egyptians,  it  was  at  once  perceived  that  the 
gods  could  not  have  been  wandering  on  earth  like  men  only  a 
few  generations  earlier.  Such  men  as  Thales,  therefore,  became 
the  founders  of  natural  science  and  philosophy.  At  this  point 
in  their  thinking  they  entered  upon  a  new  world,  which  had 
never  dawned  upon  the  greatest  minds  of  the  early  East.  This 
step  remains  and  will  forever  remain  the  greatest  achievement 
of  the  human  intellect — an  achievement  to  call  forth  the  rever- 
ence and  admiration  of  all  time. 

Just  at  this  point,  when  the  Greek  was  standing  on  the 
threshold  of  a  new  world,  the  Persian  hosts  suddenlv  advanced 


Fig.  82.  Restoration  of  the  Temple  and  Sacred  Lxclusire 
OF  Delphi.  (After  Luckenbach) 

The  famous  temple  of  Apollo,  where  all  Greece  and  many  foreigners 
came  to  hear  the  oracles  (p.  162),  is  the  large  building  in  the  center,  up 
to  which  leads  the  paved  zigzag  path  visible  also  in  Fig.  81.  On  both 
sides  of  this  path  are  seen  the  small  buildings  containing  the  costly  gifts 
presented  by  the  various  Greek  states  —  often  the  spoils  of  war  to 
commemorate  some  victory.  A  forest  of  statues  not  shown  here  rose 
everywhere  in  the  inclosure,  until  it  became  a  vast  treasury  not  only 
of  memories  and  of  the  noblest  Greek  art  but  also  of  the  precious 
metals  so  freely  used  in  making  the  statues,  tripods,  etc.  which  filled 
the  inclosure.  The  value  of  these  things  proved  fatal.  It  was  finally 
plundered  by  the  Romans  (p.  284),  but  ahhough  the  Roman  emperor 
Nero  (54-6S  A.D.)  removed  five  hundred  statues  from  here,  there  were 
still  three  thousand  left  when  Pliny  visited  the  place  some  years  later 


^63 


164  Outlines  of  European  History 

Advance  of      to  the  ^gean  (see  p.  96)  and  absorbed  the  Ionian  cities.    The 
iEgean  Persians  represented  a  high  civilization  and  an  enlightened  rule ; 

but  with  these  things  went  lack  of  free  citizenship,  political  bond- 
age, and  intellectual  subjection  to  religious  tradition.  Whether 
or  not  the  Greek  states  had  developed  the  power  to  throw  off 
the  Asiatic  assailant,  Avhose  supremacy  in  Greece  would  have 
checked  the  free  development  of  Greek  genius  along  its  own 
individual  lines,  —  this  was  the  question  which  now  confronted 
the  Hellenes.  They  little  dreamed  of  the  importance  which 
the  ensuing  struggle  would  assume  for  the  future  career  of 
civilized  man, 

QUESTIONS 

Section  23.  Who  overthrew  the  Greek  kings.?  Who  then  ruled.-* 
What  institutions  came  in  as  a  result?  What  became  of  the  citadel 
and  king's  castle?  Describe  Greek  commercial  and  industrial  devel- 
opment in  the  Age  of  the  Nobles.  W' ho  led  in  these  matters  ?  Who 
were  the  chief  competitors  of  the  Greeks?  How  did  the  Greeks  gain 
an  alphabet?    How  did  such  intercourse  affect  the  Greeks? 

What  were  the  hero  songs?  Where  did  they  chiefly  flourish?  To 
whom  were  they  attributed  ?  Which  of  them  have  come  down  to  us  ? 
How  does  Hesiod  differ  from  the  Homeric  singers  ?  Give  an  account 
of  him  and  compare  him  with  the  Hebrew  prophets.  Give  some  ac- 
count of  early  Greek  gods.    Were  they  free  from  moral  faults  ? 

Section  24.    Describe  Greek  colonization  in  north  and  east ;  in 

south  and  west.    Whom  did  they  find  as  competitors  already  in  the 

west?   Where  were  the  Phoenician  colonies?    Which  was  the  most 

•  famous?    What  two  racial  lines  were  then  facing  each  other  across 

the  Mediterranean  ? 

Section  25.  How  did  the  new  colonies  affect  trade  and  industry  in 
the  homeland  ?  Describe  the  growth  of  commerce.  What  were  the 
results  at  Athens?  Where  was  the  painted  vase  of  Fig.  75  made  and 
where  was  it  found?  Has  the  work  of  its  makers  been  found 
elsewhere?  How  did  the  growth  of  commerce  affect  shipbuilding? 
How  and  when  did  coinage  arise?  What  class  did  the  introduction 
of  motley  create?    What  effect  did  it  have  on  the  peasants? 

Section  26.  How  did  some  of  the  eupatrids  m.ake  use  of  the 
discontent  of  the  people?  What  is  a  "tyrant"  in  this  ancient  age? 
Why  did  the  people  demand  written  laws?    Whose  was  the  first 


The  Age  of  the  Nobles  and  the  Tyt-ants  in  Greece      165 

written  code  of  laws  in  Athens  ?  Did  it  prove  a  remedy  for  the  dis- 
tress of  the  peasant  class?  Who  was  Solon?  Outline  his  reforms. 
Did  Solon  save  Athens  from  the  "  tyranny "  ?  Did  the  tyranny 
last  long  at  Athens? 

What  reforms  did  Clisthenes  introduce  ?  What  change  in  military 
service  and  weapons  had  now  taken  place  ?  Of  what  advantage  was 
this  change  to  the  ordinary  citizen  ?  What  was  ostracism  ?  Tell  some- 
thing of  the  "  Seven  Wise  Men." 

Section  27.  What  advances  in  civilization  were  made  in  the 
Age  of  the  Tyrants  ?  in  sculpture  ?  music  ?  literature  ?  poetry  ? 
What  progress  do  we  now  discover  in  rehgion?  W^as  there  now 
life  hereafter  for  all?  What  were  the  "Mysteries"  of  Eleusis? 
What  were  oracles?  Who  was  the  great  god  of  oracles  and  where 
was  his  temple  ? 

Who  was  Thales?  What  did  he  do?  W^hat  effect  did  his  predic- 
tion have  on  thinking  men's  ideas  of  the  world  and  its  control  by 
the  gods  ?  What  did  they  thus  create  ?  Who  now  appeared  in  Asia 
Minor  (p.   163)? 


^.-i^^  v^V 


;i^^J^^^ri^ 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  REPULSE  OF  PERSIA  AND  THE  ATHENIAN  EMPIRE 

Section  28.    The  Struggle  with  Persia 

When  the  Ionian  cities  which  Persia  had  captured  in  her 
advance  to  the  ^Egean^  revolted,  their  friend  and  relative, 
Athens,  sent  twenty  ships  to  aid  them.  This  act  brought  a 
Persian  army  of  revenge,  under  King  Darius,  into  Europe.  The 
long  march  across  the  Hellespont  and  through  Thrace  cost  the 
invaders  many  men,  and  the  fleet  which  formed  one  wing  of 
the  Persian  advance  was  wrecked  in  trying  to  round  the  high 
promontory  of  Mount  Athos  (492  B.C.).  The  advance  into 
Greece  was  therefore  abandoned  for  a  different  plan  of  invasion, 
which  would  avoid  the  long  march  around  the  Hellespont. 

In  the  early  summer  of  490  p.c.  a  considerable  fleet  of  trans- 
ports and  warships  bearing  the  Persian  host  put  out  from  the 
Island  of  Samos,  sailed  straight  across  the  JEgean,  and  entered 
the  straits  between  Euboea  and  Attica  (see  map,  p.  146,  and  Fig. 
83).  The  Persians  began  by  burning  the  little  city  of  Eretria, 
which  had  also  sent  ships  to  aid  the  lonians  against  Persia,  and 
then  landed  on  the  shores  of  Attica,  in  the  Bay  of  Marathon 

1  The  student  should  here  reread  pp.  96-97. 
166 


The  Repulse  of  Persia  and  the  Athenian  Empire    167 

(see  map,  p.  146,  and  Fig.  2>t,),  intending  to  march  on  Athens, 
the  greater  offender.  They  were  guided  by  the  aged  Hippias, 
son  of  Pisistratus,  once  tyrant  of  Athens,  who  accompanied 
them  with  high  hopes  of  regaining  control  of  his  native  city. 


If  ' 


:^  ^^^ 


'"''^'iflC.r.d 


■-bfe^^-ti^^  HI,.  ,%,.,. 


Fig.  83.  The  Plain  of  Marathon 

This  view  is  taken  from  the  hills  at  the  south  end  of  the  plain,  and  we 
look  northeastward  across  a  corner  of  the  Bay  of  Marathon  to  the 
mountains  in  the  background,  which  are  on  the  large  island  of  Euboea 
(see  map,  p.  146).  The  Persian  camp  was  on  the  plain  at  the  very  shore 
line,  where  their  ships  were  moored  or  drawn  up.  The  Greeks  held  a 
position  in  the  hills  overlooking  the  plain  (just  out  of  range  on  the  left) 
and  commanding  the  road  to  Athens,  which  is  twenty-five  miles  distant 
behind  us.  When  the  Persians  began  to  move  along  the  shore  road 
toward  the  right,  the  Greeks  crossed  the  plain  and  attacked.  The 
memorial  mound  (Fig.  84)  is  too  far  away  to  be  visible  from  this  point 


All  was  excitement  and  confusion  among  the  Greek  states.  Conster- 

.     ,        ,  nation  in 

The  defeat  of  the  revolting  Ionian  cities,  and  especially  the  Athens  and 

Persian  sack  of  Miletus,  had  made  a  deep  impression  through-  Greece 
out  Greece.    An  Athenian  dramatist  had  depicted  in  a  play  the 
plunder  of  the  unhappy  city  and  so  incensed  the  Athenians  that 


i68 


Oiitliiics  of  European  History 


they  passed  weeping  from  the  theater  to  prosecute  and  fine  the 
author.  Now  this  Persian  foe  who  had  crushed  the  Ionian  cities 
was  camping  behind  the  hills  only  a  few  miles  northeast  of 
Athens.  After  dispatching  messengers  in  desperate  haste  to 
seek  aid  in  Sparta*  the  Athenian  citizens  turned  to  contemplate 
the  seemingly  hopeless  situation  of  their  beloved  city.  Here  was 
a  tiny  Greek  state  confronted  by  the  army  of  the  Lord  of  Asia, 
the  Emperor  of  the  world,  who  regarded  the  peoples  of  the  West 
as  insignificant  communities  which  had  been  troubling  the  fron- 
tiers of  his  vast  world  empire. 

Thinking  to  find  the  Athenians  unprepared,  Darius  had  not 
sent  a  large  army.  The  Persian  forces  probably  numbered  no 
more  than  twenty  thousand  men,  while  at  the  utmost  the  Athe- 
nians could  not  put  more  than  half  this  number  into  the  field. 
Fortunately  for  them  there  was  among  their  generals  a  skilled 
and  experienced  commander  named  Miltiades,  a  man  of  resolu- 
tion and  firmness,  who,  moreover,  had  lived  on  the  Hellespont 
and  was  familiar  with  Persian  methods  of  fighting.  To  his 
judgment  the  commander-in-chief,  Callimachus,  yielded  at  all 
points.  As  the  citizen-soldiers  of  Attica  flocked  to  the  city  at 
the  call  to  arms,  Miltiades  was  able  to  induce  the  leaders  not  to 
await  the  assault  of  the  Persians  at  Athens,  but  to  march  across 
the  peninsula  (see  map,  p.  146)  and  block  the  Persian  advance 
among  the  hills  overlooking  the  eastern  coast  and  commanding 
the  road  to  the  city.  This  bold  and  resolute  move  roused  cour- 
age and  enthusiasm  in  the  downcast  ranks  of  the  Greeks. 

Nevertheless,  when  they  issued  between  the  hills  and  looked 
down  upon  the  Persian  host  encamped  upon  the  Plain  of  Mara- 
thon (Fig.  83),  flanked  by  a  fleet  of  hundreds  of  vessels,  misgiv- 
ing and  despair  chilled  the  hearts  of  the  little  Attic  army.  But 
Miltiades  held  the  leaders  firmly  in  hand,  and  the  arrival  of  a 
thousand  Greeks  from  Platasa  revived  the  courage  of  the  Athe- 
nians. The  Greek  position  overlooked  the  main  road  to  Athens, 
and  the  Persians  could  not  advance  without  leaving  their  line 
of  march  exposed  on  one  side  to  the  Athenian  attack. 


The  Rcpidse  of  Persia  and  the  AtJienian  Empire    169 

Unable  to  lure  the  Greeks  from  their  advantageous  position   The  battle 
after  several  days'  waiting,  the  Persians  at  length  attempted  to    (4^0  bx.)°" 
march  along  the  road  to  Athens,  at  the  same  time  endeavoring 
to  cover  their  exposed  line  of  march  with  a  sufficient  force 
thrown  out  in  battle  arrav.     Miltiades  was  familiar  with  the 


?»tf5si-*-*^"' 


#' 

^//T' 


,f.r,ie^c(irei(ler- 


FiG.  84.    Mound  raised  as  a  Monument  to  the  Fallen 
Greeks  at  Marathon 

The  mound  is  nearly  fifty  feet  high.  Excavations  undertaken  in  1890  dis- 
closed beneath  it  the  bodies  of  the  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  Athenian 
citizens  who  fell  in  the  battle.    Some  of  their  weapons  and  the  funeral 
vases  buried  with  them  were  also  recovered 


Persian  custom  of  massing  troops  in  the  center.  He  there- 
fore massed  his  own  troops  on  both  wings,  leaving  his  center 
weak.  It  was  a  battle  between  bow  and  spear.  The  Athenians 
undauntedly  faced  the  storm  of  Persian  arrows,  ^  and  then  both 
wings  pushed  boldly  forward  to  the  line  of  shields  behind  which 
the  Persian  archers  were  kneeling.  In  the  meantime  the  Persian 
center  had  forced  back  the  Greeks,  while  the  two  Greek  wings 


1  See  page  96  and  Fig.  5  j 


I/O 


Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 


Rise  of 
Themistocles 


His  plan  for 
creation  of 
a  fleet 


Persian  prep- 
arations for  a 
third  invasion 


Themistocles 
creates  a  fleet 


closed  in  on  either  side  and  thrust  back  the  Persian  wings  in 
confusion.  The  Asiatic  army  crumbled  into  a  broken  multitude 
between  the  two  advancing  lines  of  Greeks.  The  Persian  bow 
was  useless,  and  the  Greek  spear  ever^-where  spread  death  and 
terror.  As  the  Persians  fled  to  their  ships  they  left  over  six 
thousand  dead  upon  the  field,  while  the  Athenians  lost  less  than 
two  hundred  men  (Fig.  84).^  When  the  Persian  commander, 
unwilling  to  acknowledge  defeat,  sailed  around  the  Attic  pen- 
insula and  appeared  with  his  fleet  before  the  port  of  Athens, 
he  found  it  unwise  to  attempt  a  landing,  for  the  victorious 
Athenian  army  was  already  encamped  beside  the  city. 

Among  the  men  who  stood  in  the  Athenian  ranks  at  Marathon 
was  Themistocles,  the  ablest  statesman  in  Greece,  a  man  who 
had  already  occupied  the  oflfice  of  archon,  the  head  of  the 
Athenian  state.  As  archon  Themistocles  had  striven  to  con- 
vince the  Athenians  that  the  only  way  in  which  Athens  could 
hope  to  meet  the  assault  of  Persia  was  by  making  herself  un- 
disputed mistress  of  the  sea.  He  had  failed  in  his  effort.  But 
now  the  Athenians  had  seen  the  Persians  cross  the  ^gean 
with  their  fleet  and  land  at  Marathon.  It  was  evident  that 
a  powerful  Athenian  navy  might  have  stopped  them.  They 
began  to  listen  to  the  counsels  of  Themistocles  to  make  Athens 
the  great  sea  power  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Darius  the  Persian  died  without  having  avenged  his  defeat 
at  Marathon,  but  his  son  and  successor,  Xerxes,  took  up  the 
unfinished  task.  He  was  prevailed  upon  by  his  able  general 
Mardonius  to  adopt  the  Hellespont  route.  When  the  Athenians 
saw  that  Xerxes'  commanders  were  cutting  a  canal  behind  the 
promontory  of  Athos,  to  secure  a  short  cut  and  thus  to  avoid 
all  risk  of  such  a  wreck  as  had  overtaken  their  former  fleet  in 
rounding  this  dangerous  point,  Themistocles  was  able  to  induce 
the  Assembly  to  build  a  great  fleet  of  probably  a  hundred  and 
eighty  triremes. 


1  The  mound  raised  by  the  Athenians  in   honor  of  the  fallen  Greeks  still 
marks  the  battlefield,  a  sacred  memorial  reverently  visited  by  many  travelers. 


The  Repulse  of  Persia  mid  the  Athenian  Empire    i/i 

Themistocles'  masterly  plan  of  campaign  corresponded  exactly  Third  Per- 

to  the  plan  of  the  Persian  advance.  The  Asiatics  were  coming  in  xhemil^^^^" 

combined  land  and  sea  array,  with  army  and  fleet  moving  together  ^°^^^^  P^^"^ 
down  the  east  coast  of  the  Greek  mainland.    The  design  of 


?CT  -^C^ 


Fig.  '^^.    The  Pass  of  Thermopyl^ 

In  the  time  of  the  Persian  invasion  the  mountains  to  the  left  dropped 
steeply  to  the  sea,  with  barely  room  between  for  a  narrow  road.  Since 
then  the  rains  of  twenty-four  hundred  years  have  washed  down  the 
mountainside,  and  it  is  no  longer  as  steep  as  formerly,  while  the  neigh- 
boring river  has  filled  in  the  shore  and  pushed  back  the  sea  several 
miles.  Otherwise  we  would  see  it  here  on  the  right.  The  Persians, 
coming  from  beyond  the  mountains  toward  our  point  of  view,  could  not 
spread  out  in  battle  array,  being  hemmed  in  by  the  sea  on  one  side 
and  the  cliff  on  the  other.  It  was  only  when  a  traitorous  Greek  led 
a  Persian  force  by  night  over  the  mountain  on  the  left,  and  they  ap- 
peared behind  the  Greeks  in  the  pass,  that  Leonidas  and  his  Spartans 
were  crushed  by  the  simultaneous  attack  in  front  and  rear  (pp.  172-174) 


Themistocles  was  to  meet  the  Persian  fleet  first  with  full  force 
and  fight  a  decisive  naval  battle  as  soon  as  possible.  If  vic- 
torious, the  Greek  fleet  commanding  the  ^gean  would  then  be 
able  to  sail  up  the  eastern  coast  of  Greece  and  threaten  the 


1/2 


Oiitlines  of  European  History 


Persians 
enter  Greece 


The  battles 
of  Thermop- 
ylae and 
Artemisium 


communications  and  supplies  of  the  Persian  army.  There  must 
be  no  attempt  of  the  small  Greek  army  to  meet  the  vast  land 
forces  of  the  Persians,  beyond  delaying  them  as  long  as  possi- 
ble at  the  narrow  northern  passes,  which  could  be  defended 
with  a  few  men.  An  attempt  to  unite  all  the  Greek  states 
against  the  Persian  invasion  was  not  successful,  but  Sparta 
and  Athens  united  to  meet  the  common  danger.  Themistocles 
was  able  to  induce  the  Spartans  to  accept  his  plan  only  on  con- 
dition that  Sparta  be  given  command  of  the  allied  Greek  fleets. 

In  the  summer  of  480  B.C.  the  Asiatic  army  was  approaching 
the  pass  of  Thermopylae  (Fig.  85),  just  opposite  the  western- 
most point  of  the  Island  of  Euboea  (see  map,  p.  1 46).  Their  fleet 
moved  with  them.  The  Asiatic  host  must  have  numbered  over 
two  hundred  thousand  men,  with  probably  as  many  more  camp 
followers,  while  the  enormous  fleet  contained  presumably  about  a 
thousand  vessels,  of  which  perhaps  two  thirds  were  warships.  Of 
these  they  lost  a  hundred  or  two  in  a  storm,  leaving  probably 
about  five  hundred  warships  available  for  action.  The  Spartan 
king  Leonidas  led  some  five  thousand  men  to  check  the  Persians 
at  the  pass  of  Thermopylae,  while  the  Greek  fleet  of  less  than 
three  hundred  triremes  was  endeavoring  to  hold  together  and 
strike  the  Persian  navy  at  Artemisium,  on  the  northern  coast 
of  Euboea.  Thus  the  land  and  sea  forces  of  both  contestants 
were  face  to  face. 

After  several  days'  delay  the  Persians  advanced  to  attack  on 
both  land  and  sea.  The  Greek  fleet  made  a  skillful  and  credit- 
able defense  against  superior  numbers,  and  all  day  the  daunt- 
less Leonidas  held  the  pass  of  Thermopylae  against  the  Persian 
host.  Meantime  the  Persians  were  executing  two  flank  move- 
ments by  land  and  by  sea  —  one  over  the  mountains  to  strike 
Leonidas  in  the  rear,  and  the  other  with  two  hundred  ships 
around  Euboea  to  take  the  Greek  fleet  likewise  from  behind. 
A  storm  destroyed  the  flanking  Persian  ships,  and  a  second 
combat  between  the  two  main  fleets  was  indecisive,  but  the 
flanking  of  the  pass  was  successful.     Taken  in  front  and  rear, 


^7Z 


174 


Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 


the  heroic  Leonidas  died  fighting  at  the  head  of  his  small  force, 
which  the  Persian  host  completely  annihilated.  The  death  of 
Leonidas  stirred  all  Greece.  With  the  defeat  of  the  Greek 
land  forces  and  the  advance  of  the  Persian  army,  the  Greek 
Greek  retreat  fleet,  seriously  damaged,  was  obliged  to  withdraw  to  the  south. 
It  took  up  its  position  in  the  Bay  of  Salamis  (see  map,  p.  146, 
and  Fig.  86),  while  the  main  army  of  the  Spartans  and  the 
allies  w^as  drawn  up  on  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  (Fig.  76),  the 
only  point  at  which  the  Greek  land  forces  could  hope  to  make 
another  defensive  stand. 

As  the  Persian  army  moved  southward  from  Thermopylae, 
the  indomitable  Themistocles  gathered  together  the  Athenian 
population  and  carried  them  in  transports  to  the  little  islands  of 
Salamis  and  ^gina  and  to  the  shores  of  Argolis  (see  map,  p.  1 46, 
and  PlateII,p.  124).  Meantime  the  Greek  fleet  had  been  repaired, 
and  with  reinforcements  numbered  over  three  hundred  battle- 
ships. Nevertheless  it  shook  the  courage  of  many  as  they  looked 
northward,  where  the  far-stretching  Persian  host  darkened  the 
coast  road,  while  in  the  south  they  could  see  the  Asiatic  fleet 
drawn  up  off  the  old  port  of  Athens  at  Phalerum  (see  map, 
p.  173).  High  over  the  Attic  hills  the  flames  of  the  burning 
Acropolis  showed  red  against  the  sullen  masses  of  smoke  that 
obscured  the  eastern  horizon  and  told  them  that  the  homes 
of  the  Athenians  lay  in  ashes.  With  masterly  skill  Themis- 
tocles held  together  the  irresolute  Greek  leaders,  while  he 
induced  Xerxes  to  attack  by  the  false  message  that  the  Greek 
fleet  was  about  to  slip  out  of  the  bay. 

On  the  heights  overlooking  the  Bay  of  Salamis  the  Persian 
king,  in  the  midst  of  his  brilliant  oriental  court,  took  up  his 
station  to  watch  the  battle.  The  Greek  position  between  the 
jutting  headlands  of  Salamis  and  the  Attic  mainland  (see  map, 
p.  146,  and  Fig.  86)  was  too  cramped  for  the  maneuvers  of  a 
large  fleet.  Crowded  and  hampered  by  the  narrow  sea-room,  the 
huge  Asiatic  fleet  soon  fell  into  confusion  before  the  Greek  attack. 
There  was  no  room  for  retreat.    The  combat  lasted  the  entire 


Battle  of 
Salalnis 
(4S0  B.C.) 


The  Repulse  of  Persia  and  the  Atheiiian  Empire    175 

day,  and  when  darkness  settled  on  the  Bay  of  Salamis  the 
Persian  fleet  had  been  almost  annihilated.  The  Athenians  were 
masters  of  the  sea,  and  it  was  impossible  for  the  army  of 
Xerxes  to  operate  with  the  same  freedom  as  before.     By  the 


Fig.  86.    Piraeus,  the  Port  of  Athens,  and  the  Strait  and 
Island  of  Salamis 

The  view  shows  the  very  modern  houses  and  buildings  of  this  flourish- 
ing harbor  town  of  Athens  (see  map,  p.  173).  The  mountains  in  the  back- 
ground are  the  heights  of  the  island  of  Salamis,  which  extends  also  far 
over  to  the  right  (north),  opposite  Eleusis  (see  map,  p.  146),  as  we  saw  in 
Fig.  80.  The  four  steamers  at  the  right  are  lying  at  the  place  where 
the  hottest  fighting  in  the  great  naval  battle  here  (p.  174)  took  place. 
The  Persian  fleet  advanced  from  the  left  (south)  and  could  not  spread 
out  in  a  long  front  to  enfold  the  Greek  fleet,  because  of  the  little  island 
just  beyond  the  four  steamers,  which  was  called  Psyttaleia.  The  Greek 
fleet  lying  behind  Psyttaleia  and  a  long  point  of  Salamis  came  into 
action  from  the  right  (north),  around  Psyttaleia.  A  body  of  Persian 
troops  stationed  by  Xerxes  on  Psyttaleia  were  all  slain  by  the  Greeks 


creation  of  its  powerful  fleet  Athens  had  saved  Greece,  and 

Themistocles  had  shown  himself  the  greatest  of  Greek  statesmen. 

Xerxes  was  now  troubled  lest  he  should  be  cut  off  from  Asia 

by  the  victorious  Greek  fleet.   Indeed,  Themistocles  made  every 


176 


Outlines  of  European  History 


effort  to  induce  Sparta  to  join  with  Athens  in  doing  this  very 
thing;  but  the  cautious  Spartans  could  not  be  prevailed  upon 
to  undertake  what  seemed  to  them  so  dangerous  an  enterprise. 
Had  Themistocles'  plan  of  sending  the  Greek  fleet  immediately 
to  the  Hellespont  been  carried  out,  Greece  would  have  been 
saved  another  year  of  anxious  campaigning  against  the  Persian 
army.  With  many  losses  from  disease  and  insufficient  supplies, 
Xerxes  retreated  to  the  Hellespont  and  withdrew  into  Asia, 
leaving  his  able  general  Mardonius  with  an  army  of  perhaps 
fifty  thousand  men  to  winter  in  Thessaly.  Meantime  the  news 
reached  Greece  that  an  army  of  Carthaginians  which  had 
crossed  from  Africa  to  Sicily  had  been  completely  defeated 
by  the  Greeks  under  the  leadership  of  Gelon,  tyrant  of  Syra- 
cuse. Thus  the  assault  of  the  Asiatics  upon  the  Hellenic 
world  was  beaten  back  in  both  east  and  west  in  the  same  year 

(480  B.C.)l 

The  brilliant  statesmanship  of  Themistocles,  so  evident  to  us 
of  to-day,  was  not  so  clear  to  the  Athenians  as  the  winter  passed 
and  they  realized  that  the  victory  at  Salamis  had  not  relieved 
Greece  of  the  presence  of  a  Persian  army,  and  that  Mardonius 
would  invade  Attica  with  the  coming  of  spring.  Themistocles, 
whose  proposed  naval  expedition  to  the  Hellespont  would  have 
forced  the  Persian  army  out  of  Greece,  was  removed  from 
command  by  the  factions  of  his  ungrateful  city.  Nevertheless 
the  most  tempting  offers  from  Mardonius  could  not  induce  the 
Athenians  to  forsake  the  cause  of  Greek  liberty  and  join  hands 
with  Persia. 

As  Mardonius  at  the  end  of  the  winter  rains  led  his  army 
again  into  Attica,  the  unhappy  Athenians  were  obliged  to  flee 
as  before,  this  time  chiefly  to  Salamis.    Sparta,  always  reluctant 


1  It  is  evident  that  Xerxes  by  his  control  of  the  Phoenician  cities  had  in- 
duced Phoenician  Carthage  to  attack  the  Greeks  in  the  west  while  he  himself 
attacked  them  in  the  east.  The  Persian  fleet  defeated  at  Salamis  was  largely 
made  up  of  Phoenician  ships.  The  Phoenicians  in  east  and  west  (Carthage) 
thus  represent  the  two  wings  of  the  great  Semitic  line,  in  attack  on  the  Indo- 
European  line  (Fig.  49)  represented  in  east  and  west  by  the  Greeks. 


of  Persia 
(479  B.C.) 


The  Repidse  of  Persia  and  the  Atheniaii  Empwe    177 

and  slow  when  the  crisis  demanded  quick  and  vigorous  action,  Spartan 
was  finally  induced  to  put  her  army  into  the  held.  When  Mar-  advances^^*^ 
donius  in  Attica  saw  the  Spartan  king  Pausanias  advancing 
through  the  Corinthian  Isthmus  and  threatening  his  rear,  he 
withdrew  northward,  having  for  the  second  time  laid  waste 
Attica  far  and  wide.  With  the  united  armies  of  Sparta,  Athens, 
and  other  allies  behind  him,  Pausanias  was  able  to  lead  some 
thirty  thousand  heavy-armed  Greeks  of  the  phalanx,  as  he  fol- 
lowed Mardonius  into  Boeotia. 

In  several  days  of  preliminary  movements  which  brought  the   Battle  of 
two  armies  into  contact  at  Plataea,  the  clever  Persian  showed   ^nai  defeat 
his   superiority,  out-maneuvering  Pausanias  and  even  gaining 
possession  of  the  southern  passes  behind  the  Greeks  and  cap- 
turing a  train  of  their  supply  wagons.    But  when  Mardonius  led 
his  archers  forward  at  double-quick,  and  the  Persians  kneeling 
behind  their  line  of  shields  rained  deadly  volleys  of  arrows  into 
the  compact  Greek  lines,  the  Hellenes  never  flinched,  although 
their  comrades  were  falling  on  every  hand.   With  th^  gaps  closed 
up,  the  massive  Greek  phalanxes  pushed  through  the  line  of 
Persian  shields,  and,  as  at  Marathon,  the  spear  proved  invincible 
against  the  bow.    In  a  heroic  but  hopeless  effort  to  rally  his   Death  of 
broken   lines,   Mardonius   himself   fell.     The    Persian   cavalry 
covered  the  rear  of  the  flying  Asiatic  army  and  saved  it  from 
destruction.  ^ 

Not  only  European  Greece,  but  Ionia  too,  was  saved  from  Athenian 
Asiatic  despotism ;   for  the  Greek  triremes,  having  meantime  ous  in'io^ni'a 
crossed  to  the  peninsula  of  Mycale  on  the  north  of  Miletus,  and  the  north 
drove  out  or  destroyed  the  remnants  of  the  Persian  fleet.    The 
Athenians  now  also  captured  and  occupied  Sestus  on  the  Euro- 
pean side  of  the  Hellespont  and  thus  held  the  crossing  from 
Asia  into  Europe  closed  against  further  Persian  invasion.    Thus 
the  grandsons  of  the  men  who  had  seen  Persia  advance  to  the 
^gean  had  blocked  her  further  progress  in  the  west  and  thrust 
her  back  from  Europe.    Indeed,  no  Persian  army  ever  set  foot 
in  European  Greece  again. 


7  8  Outlines  of  European  History 

Section  29.    The  Rise  of  the  Athenian  Empire 


Emancipated 
Greece 


Progressive 
Athens 


Conser\'ative 
Sparta 


Rivalry  of 
Athens  and 
Sparta 


Themisto- 
cles  and  the 
fortification 
of  Athens 


As  the  Athenians  returned  to  look  out  over  the  ashes  of  what 
was  once  Athens,  amid  which  rose  the  smoke-blackened  heights 
of  the  naked  Acropolis,  they  began  to  realize  the  greatness  of 
their  deliverance  and  the  magnitude  of  their  achievement.  With 
the  not  too  ready  help  of  Sparta,  they  had  met  and  crushed  the 
hoary  power  of  Asia.  They  felt  themselves  masters  of  the 
world.  The  past  seemed  narrow  and  limited.  A  new  and 
greater  Athens  dawned  upon  their  vision. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  stolid  Spartans,  wearing  the  fetters  of 
a  rigid  military  organization,  gifted  with  no  imagination,  looked 
with  misgivings  upon  the  larger  world  which  was  opening  to 
Greek  life,  and  although  they  desired  to  lead  Greece  in  mili- 
tary power,  they  shrank  from  assuming  the  responsibilities  of 
expansion.  They  represented  the  past  and  the  privileges  of  the 
few.  Athens  represented  the  future  and  the  rights  of  the  many. 
Thus  Greece  fell  into  two  camps  as  it  were :  Sparta  (Fig.  87), 
the  bulwark  of  tradition  and  limited  privileges ;  Athens  (Plate  III, 
p.  180),  the  champion  of  progress  and  the  sovereign  people.  And 
thus  the  sentiment  of  union  born  in  the  common  struggle  for 
liberty,  which  might  have  united  the  Hellenes  into  one  Greek 
nation,  was  followed  by  an  unquenchable  rivalry  between  the 
two  leading  states  of  Hellas,  which  finally  cost  the  Greeks  the 
supremacy  of  the  ancient  world. 

Themistocles  was  now  the  soul  of  Athens  and  her  policy  of 
progress  and  expansion.  He  determined  that  Athens  should  no 
longer  follow  Sparta.  He  cleverly  hoodwinked  the  Spartans, 
and  in  spite  of  their  objections  completed  the  erection  of  strong 
walls  around  a  new  and  larger  Athens.  At  the  same  time  he 
fortified  the  Piraeus,  the  Athenian  port  (see  map,  p.  173,  and 
Fig.  86).  When  the  Spartans,  after  the  repulse  of  Persia,  relin- 
quished the  command  of  the  combined  Greek  fleets,  the  power- 
ful Athenian  fleet,  the  creation  of  Themistocles,  was  master 
of  the  ^gean. 


The  Repulse  of  Persia  and  the  AtheuiaTi  Empire    179 


'^^^T'^ze- 


f|Sf%'?r; 


Fig.  87.    The  Plain  where  once  Sparta  stood 

The  olive  groves  now  grow  where  the  Spartans  once  had  their  houses. 
The  town  was  not  walled  until  long  after  the  days  of  Spartan  and 
Greek  power  were  over.  From  the  mountains  (nearly  eight  thousand 
feet  high)  behind  the  plain  the  visitor  can  see  northeastward  far  beyond 
Athens,  almost  to  Euboea ;  one  hundred  miles  northward  to  the  moun- 
tains on  the  north  of  the  Corinthian  Gulf  (see  map,  p.  146);  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  southward  to  the  Island  of  Crete.  This 
view  shows  also  how  Greece  is  cut  up  by  such  mountains 

As  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia  still  feared  the  vengeance  of  the   Estabiish- 
Persian  king,  it  was  easy  for  the  Athenians  to  form  a  perma-   Delian 
nent  defensive  league  with  the  cities  of  their  Greek  kindred  in   f;!.8?.^77  ^c.) 
Asia  and  the  ^gean  islands.    The  wealthier  of  these  cities  con- 
tributed ships,  while  others  paid  a  sum  of  money  each  year  into 


i8o  Outlijies  of  European  Histor)> 

the  treasury  of  the  League.  Athens  had  command  of  the  com- 
bined fleet  and  collected  the  money.  This  treasure  was  placed 
for  protection  in  the  temple  of  Apollo,  on  the  little  Island  of 
Delos.  Hence  the  federation  was  known  as  the  Delian  League. 
It  was  completed  within  three  years  after  Salamis.  The  transfor- 
mation of  such  a  league  into  an  empire,  made  up  of  states  subject 
to  Athens,  could  be  foreseen  as  a  very  easy  step.  All  this  was 
therefore  viewed  with  increasing  jealousy  and  distrust  by  Sparta. 


Fig.  ^%.    Potsherd  bearing  the  Name  of  Themistocles 
AND  HIS  Place  of  Residence 

The  name  of  Themistocles  is  scratched  in  the  surface  of  this  fragment 
of  a  pottery  jar  (ostracon,  p.  1 58).  It  was  written  there  by  some  citizen  of 
the  six  thousand  who  desired  and  secured  his  ostracism  in  472  B.C., 
or  may  have  served  a  similar  purpose  in  the  earlier  but  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  ostracize  him 

Rise  of  Under  the  leadership  of  Cimon,  the  son  of  Miltiades  the  hero 

of  Marathon,  the  fleet  of  the  League  now  drove  the  Persians  out 
of  the  region  of  the  Hellespont  entirely.  'Cimon  did  not  under- 
stand the  importance  of  Athenian  supremacy,  but  favored  a 
policy  of  friendship  and  alliance  with  Sparta.  Hence  political 
conflict  arose  at  Athens  over  this  question.  Noble  and  wealthy 
and  old-fashioned  folk  favored  Cimon  and  friendship  with 
Sparta,  but  progressive  and  modern  Athenians  followed  The- 
mistocles and  his  anti-Spartan  plans. 

Themistocles  was  unable  to  carry  the  Assembly  ;    he  was 


t/3  .i;    >- 

•5    <u  J2 


_^   o  O 
•t:  X  jD 


~       'JO 


rt  T^  'S.tt; 


si 

.^    o 


.2   '^ 


1-5     S 


<u   -^    c  , 

I-     ^     O    w 


rt 


■^    2    c 


-    u  :^  ^-    CL' 


fc£ 


>     O 


<u 


03 


3    0-0; 


^  r 


j_i  -^ 


The  Repulse  of  Persia  and  the  Athenian  Empire    l8l 

ostracized  (Fig.  88),  and  at  length,  on  false  charges  of  treason,   Fall  of  The- 
he  was  condemned  and  obliged  to  flee  for  his  life.   The  greatest   (^7^2-47^1^.0.) 
statesman  in  Athenian  histor)^  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in  the 
service  of  the  Persian  king,  and  he  never  again  saw  the  city  he 
had  saved  from  the  Persians  and  made  mistress  of  an  empire. 

When  a  Persian  fleet  of  some  two  hundred  ships  now  came   Cimon  de- 
creeping  westward  along  the  southern  coast  of  Asia  Minor,   PeSln  fleet 
Cimon  not  only  destroyed  the  entire  hostile  fleet,  but  he  also   ejjjjf ^i"el|^'"' 
landed  and  crushed  the  Persian  land  force  which  had  fortified 
itself  at  this  point  (468  B.C.). 

Covered  with  glory,  Cimon  returned  to  Athens  and  urged  the  Fall  of  Cimon 
dispatch  of  troops  to  Sparta  in  response  to  a  request  from  the 
Spartans  for  help  in  quelling  a  revolt  among  their  own  subjects. 
Herein  Cimon  overestimated  the  good  feeling  of  the  Spartans 
toward  Athens  ;  for,  in  spite  of  the  continuance  of  the  revolt, 
the  Spartans  after  a  time  curtly  demanded  the  withdrawal 
of  the  very  Athenian  troops  they  had  asked  for.  Stung  by 
this  rebuff,  to  which  Cimon's  friendly  policy  toward  Sparta  had 
exposed  them,  the  Athenians  voted  to  ostracize  Cimon  (461  B.C.). 

The  name  of  Pericles,  the  statesman  who  succeeded  Cimon  Pericles  and 
as  the  leader  of  Athens,  is  the  most  illustrious  in  her  history,  isdc^piny^^ 
He  was  a  handsome  and  brilliant  young  Athenian,  descended  ^*  Athens 
from  one  of  the  old  noble  families,  of  the  line  of  Clisthenes, 
who  two  generations  before  had  done  so  much  for  Athenian 
democracy  (see  p.  157).  Like  his  great  ancestor,  he  fearlessly 
championed  the  cause  of  the  people,  and  he  also  accepted  the 
"  imperialistic  program  "  of  Athenian  supremacy  over  the  other 
Greek  states.  He  desired  to  rear  the  splendid  Athenian  empire 
of  which  Themistocles  had  dreamed.  He  put  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  party  of  progress  and  of  increased  power  of  the  people. 
Increasing  prosperity  had  been  creating  an  ever-growing  body 
of  wealthy  men  who  rose  from  the  lower  classes.  They  hoped 
for  wide  expansion  of  Athenian  power,  for  they  felt  the  com- 
petition of  the  merchants  of  ^Egina  and  of  Corinth,  the  powerful 
commercial  ally  of  Sparta. 


l82 


Outlines  of  Eiiropean  History 


Fig.  89.   The  Pnyx,  the  Athenian  Place  of  Assembly 

The  speakers'  platform  with  its  three  steps  is  immediately  in  the  fore- 
ground. The  listening  Athenian  citizens  of  the  Assembly  sat  on  the 
ground  now  sloping  away  to  the  left,  but  at  that  time  probably  level. 
The  ground  they  occupied  was  inclosed  by  a  semicircular  wall,  begin- 
ning at  the  further  end  of  the  straight  wall  seen  here  on  the  right, 
extending  then  to  the  left,  and  returning  to  the  straight  wall  again 
behind  our  present  point  of  view  (see  semicircle  on  plan,  p.  173).  This 
was  an  open-air  House  of  Commons,  where,  however,  the  citizen  did 
not  send  a  representative  but  came  and  voted  himself  as  he  was  in- 
fluenced from  this  platform  by  great  Athenian  leaders,  like  Themisto- 
cles,  Pericles,  or  Demosthenes  (p.  216).  Note  the  Acropolis  and  the 
Parthenon,  to  which  we  look  eastward  from  the  Pnyx  (see  plan,  p.  173). 
The  Areopagus  is  just  out  of  range  on  the  left  (see  Fig.  91) 


Salaries  for 
state  offices 
introduced 


A  long  Struggle  of  the  people  for  power  had  brought  about 
changes  in  the  constitution  providing  that  all  citizens  holding 
state  office  should  receive  pay  for  such  service.  The  people 
were  in  the  saddle  (Fig.  89).  It  was  now  possible  even  for  men 
of  very  limited  means  to  hold  office,  and  all  were  permitted  to 


The  Repulse  of  Persia  and  the  A  thenian  Empire    183 


do  so  except  members  of  the  laboring  class  entirely  without   Complete 

triumph  oj 
democracy 


property.    With  one  exception  there  was  no  longer  any  election  '^.'"'""^P   ° 


of  the  higher  officers,  but  they  were  now  all  chosen  by  lot  from 
the  whole  body  of  eligible  citizens.  The  result  was  that  the  men 
holding  the  once  influential  positions  in  the  State  were  now  mere 
chance  "  nobodies  "  and  hence  completely  without  influence. 

It  was,  however,  impossible  to  choose  a  military  commander  The  leader- 
{^strategus)  by  lot.  These  important  offices  remained  elective  Peddes 
and  thus  open  to  men  of  ability  and  influence,  into  whose  hands 
the  direction  of  affairs  naturally  fell.  It  thus  became  more  and 
more  possible  for  a  strong  and  influential  leader,  a  man  of  per- 
suasive eloquence  like  Pericles,  to  lay  out  a  definite  series  of 
plans  for  the  nation  and  by  his  oratory  to  induce  the  Assembly 
of  the  Athenian  citizens  on  the  Pnyx  (Fig.  89)  to  accept  them. 
Year  after  year  Pericles  was  thus  able  to  retain  the  confidence  of 
the  people.  He  became  the  actual  head  of  the  State  in  power,  or, 
as  we  should  say,  the  undisputed  political  "  boss  "  of  Athens  from 
about  460  B.C.  until  his  untimely  death  over  thirty  years  later. 

Pericles  had  won  favor  with  the  people  by  favoring  a  policy   New  de- 
of  hostilit)^  to  Sparta,  a  policy  opposed  to  Cimon's  attitude  of  At"hens° 
friendship  toward  the  only  dangerous  rival  of  Athens  in  the   ^^t^?,"?, 
struggle  for  the  leadership  of  Hellas.    Pericles  greatly  strength- 
ened the  defenses  of  Athens  by  inducing  the  people  to  connect 
the  fortifications  of  the  city  with  those  of  the  Pirasus  harbor  by 
two  "  Long  Walls,"  thus  forming  a  road  completely  walled  in, 
connecting  Athens  and  her  harbor  (Fig.  86  and  plan,  p.  173). 

The  inevitable  war  with  Sparta  lasted  nearly  fifteen  years.   First  war 
with  varying  fortunes  on  both  sides.    The  Athenian  merchants  A^thenTand 
resented  the  keen  commercial  rivalry  of  ^gina,  planted  as  the   Sparta  (459- 
flourishing  island  was  at  the  very  front  door  of  Attica  (see  map, 
p.  1 46).  They  finally  captured  the  island  after  a  long  siege.  Pericles   Athenians 
likewise  employed  the  Athenian  navy  in  blockading  for  years   ^^gina 
the  merchant  fleets  of  the  other  great  rival  of  Athens  and  friend 
of  Sparta,  Corinth  (Fig.  76),  and  thus  brought  financial  ruin  on 
its  merchants. 


1 84  Outlines  of  Eitropean  History 

Pericles  shifted  the  treasury  of  the  Delian  League  from  Delos 
to  Athens,  an  act  which  made  the  city  more  than  ever  the  capi- 
tal of  an  Athenian  Empire.  The  assassination  of  Xerxes  and  a 
consequent  revolt  against  the  Persians  in  Egypt  had  induced 
the  Athenians  to  resume  the  conflict  with  Persia  (459  B.C.). 
They  therefore  dispatched  a  fleet  of  two  hundred  ships  against 
the  Persians  in  Eg}-pt  and  had  thus  been  fighting  both  Sparta 
and  Persia  for  years.  The  entire  Athenian  fleet  in  Egypt  was 
lost.  Some  Attic  successes  in  Boeotia  were  followed  by  defeats  in 
which  the  Athenians  lost  all  that  they  had  gained  in  the  north. 
Peace  with  When  peace  was  concluded  (446  b.c.)  all  that  Athens  was 

Persia  ^  ^t)le  to  retain  was  the  Island  of  yEgina.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
peace  should  continue  for  thirty  years.  Thus  ended  what  is 
often  called  the  First  Peloponnesian  War  with  the  complete 
exhaustion  of  Athens  as  well  as  her  enemies  in  the  Pelopon- 
nesus. The  Athenians  then  arranged  a  peace  with  Persia 
also,  over  forty  years  after  Marathon.  But  the  rivalry  between 
Athens  and  Sparta  for  the  leadership  of  the  Greeks  was  still 
unsettled.  The  struggle  was  to  be  continued  in  another  long 
and  weary  "  Peloponnesian  War."  Before  we  proceed  with 
the  stor}'  of  this  fatal  struggle  we  must  glance  briefly  at  the 
new  and  glorious  Athens  now  growing  up  under  the  hand  of 
Pericles. 

Section  30.  Civilization  of  Imperial  Athens  in 
THE  Age  of  Pericles 

The  higher  Although  the  first  fifteen  years  of  the  leadership  of  Pericles 

rial  Athens^;  were  encumbered  with  the  Spartan  and  Persian  wars,  the  higher 
sute^°"^^^  life  of  Athens  continued  to  unfold,  and  the  next  fifteen  years 
brought  to  fruitage  the  tremendous  and  revolutionary  experi- 
ences through  which  Greece  and  especially  Athens  had  been 
passing  for  half  a  century.  The  new  vision  of  the  glory  of  the 
State,  discerned  nowhere  in  the  world  before  this  age,  caught 
the  imagination  of  poet  and  painter,  of  sculptor  and  architect, 


The  Repjdse  of  Persia  and  the  A  tJienian  Empire    185 


and  not  of  these  alone 
but  of  the  humblest 
artizan  and  tradesman. 
All  classes  alike  partici- 
pated in  the  public 
festivals  which  were  con- 
ducted by  the  State 
every  six  or  seven  days. 
The  great  Pan-Athenaic 
festival,  which  occurred 
every  four  years,  gath- 
ered all  the  people  in 
stately  processions  and 
splendid  games,  bring- 
ing into  their  lives  the 
memories  of  a  heroic 
past  and  the  imposing 
honors  paid  to  the  great 
gods  who  sheltered  and 
protected  the  Athenian 
wState.  The  wealthy  citi- 
zens themselves  paid 
the  expenses  of  compet- 
ing choruses,  and  each 
successful  competitor 
proudly  erected  a  grace- 
ful monument  of  victory 
(Fig.  90)  in  a  street  es- 
pecially reserved  for 
such  memorials.  These 
choruses  were  made  up 
of  the  men  and  boys  of 
Athens.  The  citizen  thus 
found  music,  the  drama, 
art      and      architecture, 


Fig.  90.    Monument   coMxMemorat- 

iNG  THE  Triumph  of  an  Athenian 

Citizen  in  Music 

An  entire  street  of  Athens  was  filled 
with  such  monuments  (p.  185).  We  learn 
the  name  of  the  citizen,  Lysicrates,  who 
erected  this  beautiful  monument,  from 
the  inscription  it  still  bears,  which  reads: 
"  Lysicrates  .  .  .  was  choragus  [leader 
of  the  chorus]  when  the  boy-chorus  of 
the  tribe  of  Akamantis  won  the  prize  ; 
Theon  was  flute-player,  Lysiades  of 
Athens  trained  the  choir.  Euatnetus 
was  archon."  The  archon's  name  dates 
the  erection  of  the  monument  for  us  in 
335  ^^  334  B-C-  Beyond  the  monument 
we  look  westward  to  the  back  of  the 
Acropolis  (see  plan,  p.  173) 


1 86  Outlines  of  European  History 

profoundly  touched  by  the  new  and  exalted  vision  of  the  State, 
thrust  into  the  foreground  of  his  life. 

We  can  still  follow  the  citizen  and  note  a  few  of  the  inspir- 
ing monuments  that  met  his  eye  as  he  went  about  the  new 
Athens  which  Pericles  was  creating.  Wandering  into  the  market 
place  (see  plan,  p.  173,  and  Fig.  91),  the  citizen  found  an  impos- 
ing colonnaded  porch  along  one  side,  presented  to  the  city  by  a 
wealthy  noble :  the  wall  behind  the  columns  bore  a  long  series 
of  paintings  by  an  artist  from  one  of  the  island  possessions  of 
Athens,  a  gift  of  the  painter  to  the  Athenians,  depicting  their 
glorious  victory  at  Marathon.  Here  in  splendid  panorama  was  a 
vision  of  the  heroic  devotion  of  the  fathers.  In  the  thick  of  the 
fray  the  citizen  might  pick  out  the  figure  of  Themistocles,  of 
Miltiades,  of  Callimachus  who  fell  in  the  battle,  of  ^schylus  the 
great  tragic  poet.  He  could  see  the  host  of  the  fleeing  Persians 
and  perhaps  hear  some  old  man  tell  how  the  brother  of  ^schylus 
seized  and  tried  to  stop  one  of  the  Persian  boats  drawn  up  on 

*  In  this  view  we  stand  inside  the  wall  of  Themistocles,  near  the 
Dipylon  Gate  in  the  Potters'  Quarter  (see  plan,  p.  173).  In  the  fore- 
ground is  the  temple  of  Theseus,  the  legendary  unifier  of  Attica,  whom 
all  Athenians  honored  as  a  god,  and  to  whom  this  temple  has  long 
been  supposed  to  have  been  erected.  It  is  built  of  Pentelic  marble 
and  was  finished  a  few  years  after  the  death  of  Pericles ;  but  now, 
after  twenty-three  hundred  years  or  more,  it  is  still  the  best  preserved 
of  all  ancient  Greek  buildings.  Above  the  houses,  at  the  extreme  right, 
may  be  seen  one  corner  of  the  hill  called  the  Areopagus  (see  plan, 
p.  173),  often  called  Mars'  Hill,  where  sat  the  ancient  criminal  court  of 
Athens  —  a  court  made  up  of  the  most  influential  and  respected  old 
citizens.  It  was  probably  here  that  the  apostle  Paul  (p.  300)  preached 
in  Athens  (see"  Acts  xvii).  The  great  hill  of  the  Acropolis  was  once 
crowned  by  the  dwellings  of  the  prehistoric  kings  of  Athens  (p.  136). 
The  buildings  we  nov/  see  there  are  all  ruins  of  the  structures  erected 
after  the  place  had  been  laid  waste  by  the  Persians  (p.  174).  At  the 
right  (west)  are  the  approaches  built  by  the  architect  Mnesicles  under 
Pericles  (p.  188).  The  Parthenon  (p.  188),  in  the  middle  of  the  hill  (see 
plan,  p.  173),  shows  the  gaping  hole  caused  by  the  explosion  of  a  Turk- 
ish powder  magazine  ignited  by  a  Venetian  shell  in  1687,  when  the 
entire  central  portion  of  the  building  was  blown  out.  The  space  be- 
tween the  temple  of  Theseus,  the  Areopagus,  and  the  Acropolis  was 
largely  occupied  by  the  market  place  of  Athens  (p.  186  and  plan,  p.  173). 


[87 


1 88  Outlines  of  Etnvpean  History 

the  beach,  and  how  a  desperate  Persian  raised  his  ax  and  slashed 
off  the  hand  of  the  brave  Greek.  Perhaps  among  the  group  of 
eager  listeners  he  might  notice  one  questioning  the  veteran 
carefully  and  making  full  notes  of  all  that  he  can  learn  from 
the  graybeard.  The  questioner  is  Herodotus,  the  "  father  of 
history,"  the  first  great  prose  writer  to  devote  himself  to  the 
stor)^  of  the  past.  He  is  collecting  from  survivors  the  tale  of 
the  Persian  wars  for  a  history  which  he  is  writing  (p.  203). 

The  citizen  wanders  on  toward  the  theater.  Above  him 
towers  the  height  of  the  Acropolis  crowned  with  the  Parthenon 
(Plate  IV,  p.  192,  and  Fig.  91),  a  noble  temple  to  Athena,  whose 
protecting  arm  is  always  stretched  out  over  her  beloved  Athens. 
There  on  the  Pnyx  (Fig.  89)  Pericles  made  the  splendid  speech 
in  which  he  laid  before  the  Assembly  of  the  people  his  plans 
for  the  beautification  of  the  Acropolis  and  the  restoration  of  the 
temples  which  the  Persians  had  burned.  As  he  passes  the  Hill 
of  the  Areopagus  the  citizen  remembers  the  discontented  mut- 
terings  of  the  old  men  in  the  ancient  council  which  convenes  on 
its  summit  (Fig.  91),  when  they  heard  the  vast  expenses  required 
for  Pericles'  building  plans,  and  he  smiles  in  satisfaction  as  he 
reflects  that  this  unprogressive  old  body,  once  so  influential  in 
Athens,  has  been  deprived  of  its  powers  to  obstruct  the  will  of 
the  people  in  anything  they  wish  to  do.  Here  before  him  rise 
the  imposing  marble  colonnades  of  the  magnificent  monumental 
approach  to  the  Acropolis  (Fig.  91).  It  is  still  unfinished,  and 
the  architect  Mnesicles,  with  a  roll  of  plans  under  his  arm,  is 
perhaps  at  the  moment  directing  a  group  of  workmen  to  their 
task.  The  tinkle  of  many  distant  hammers  from  the  height 
above  tells  where  the  stone  cutters  are  shaping  the  marble- 
blocks  for  the  still  unfinished  Parthenon  (Fig.  91  and  Plate  III, 
p.  180)  ;  and  there,  too,  the  people  often  see  Pericles  intently  in- 
specting the  work,  as  Phidias  the  sculptor  and  Ictinus  the  archi- 
tect of  the  building  pace  up  and  down  the  inclosure,  explaining 
to  him  the  progress  of  the  work.  In  these  wondrous  Greek 
buildings  architect  and  sculptor  work  hand  in  hand. 


I^^U'"^^  ■-V; 


^1 


fcJOTJ 


o    t^ 


Fig.  93.    Hermes  playing  with  the  Child  Dionysus 

The  uplifted  right  hand  (now  broken  off)  of  the  god  probably  held  a  bunch 
of  grapes,  with  which  he  was  amusing  the  child.  This  wonderful  work 
was  wrought  by  the  sculptor  Praxiteles  and  illustrates  the  culmination  of 
Athenian  art  in  the  fourth  century  B.C.,  in  the  days  of  the  political  weak- 
ness of  Athens,  when  Thebes  was  overthrowing  Sparta  (p.  212),  and  Mace- 
donia was  gaining  the  leadership  of  the  Greeks  (p.  216) 


The  Repulse  of  Persia  and  the  A  thenian  Empire    1 89 

Phidias  is  the  greatest  of  the  sculptors  at  Athens.  In  a  long  Sculpture  — 
band  of  carved  marble  extending  entirely  around  the  four  sides 
of  the  Parthenon,  at  the  top  inside  the  colonnades  (Plate  IV, 
p.  192),  Phidias  and  his  pupils  have  portrayed,  as  in  a  glorified 
vision,  the  sovereign  people  of  Athens  moving  in  the  stately 
procession  of  the  Pan-Athenaic  festival  (Fig.  92).  To  be  sure, 
these  are  not  individual  portraits  of  Athenian  folk,  but  only  types 
which  lived  in  the  exalted  vision  of  the  sculptor,  and  not  on  the 
streets  of  Athens.  But  such  sculpture  had  never  been  seen 
before.  How  different  is  the  supreme  beauty  of  these  perfect 
human  forms  from  the  cruder  figures  which  adorned  the  temple 
burned  by  the  Persians.  The  citizen  has  seen  the  shattered 
fragments  of  these  older  \vorks  cleared  away  and  covered 
with  rubbish  when  the  architects  leveled  off  the  summit  of  the 
Acropolis.^  Inside  the  new  temple  gleams  the  colossal  figure  of 
Athena,  wrought  by  the  cunning  hand  of  Phidias  in  gold  and 
ivory  —  his  masterpiece.  Even  from  the  city  below  the  citizen 
can  discern,  touched  with  bright  colors,  the  heroic  figures  of 
the  gods  with  which  Phidias  has  filled  the  triangular  gable  ends 
of  the  building.^ 

These  are  the  gods  to  whom  the  faith  of  the  Athenian  people  The  drama 
still  reverently  looks  up.  Have  not  Athena  and  these  gods 
raised  the  power  of  Athens  to  the  imperial  position  which  she 
now  occupies  ?  Do  not  all  the  citizens  recall  ^schylus'  drama  .Eschylus 
"  The  Persians,"  in  which  the  memories  of  the  great  deliverance 
from  Persian  conquest  are  enshrined  ?  How  that  tremendous 
day  of  Salamis  was  made  to  live  again  in  the  imposing  picture 
which  the  poet's  genius  brought  before  them,  disclosing  the 
mighty  purpose  of  the  gods  to  save  Hellas !  As  he  skirts  the 
sheer  precipice  of  the  Acropolis  the  citizen  reaches  the  theater 

1  Till  recently  they  lay  buried  under  the  rubbish  on  the  slope  (Fig.  91).  The 
excavations  of  the  Greek  government  have  recovered  them,  and  they  are  now  in 
the  Acropolis  Museum  at  Athens. 

2  These  figures  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  Chapter  VII  (p.  195).  They  repre- 
sent the  battle  between  Athena  and  Poseidon,  god  of  the  sea,  for  possession  of 
Attica. 


1 90 


Outlines  of  European  History 


(see  plan,  p.  173,  and  Fig.  94),  where  he  finds  the  people  are  al- 
ready entering.  Only  yesterday  he  and  his  neighbors  received 
from  the  state  treasury  the  money  for  their  admission.  It  is  natu- 
ral that  they  should  feel  that  the  theater  and  all  that  is  done  there 
belong  to  the  people,  and  not  the  less  as  the  citizen  looks  down 
upon  the  stage  and  recognizes  many  of  his  friends  and  neighbors 
and  their  sons  in  the  chorus  for  that  day's  performance. 

A  play  of  Sophocles  is  on,  and  his  neighbor  in  the  next  seat 
leans  over  to  tell  the  citizen  how  as  a  lad  many  years  ago  he 
stood  on  the  shore  of  Salamis,-  whither  his  family  had  fled 
(p.  174),  and  as  they  looked  down  upon  the  destruction  of  the 
Persian  fleet,  this  same  Sophocles,  a  boy  of  sixteen,  was  in  the 
crowd  looking  on  with  the  rest.  How  deeply  must  the  events 
of  that  tragic  day  have  sunk  into  the  poet's  soul !  For  does  he 
not  see  the  will  of  the  gods  in  all  that  happens  to  men  ?  Does 
he  not  celebrate  the  stern  decree  of  Zeus  everywkere  hanging 
over  human  life,  at  the  same  time  that  he  uplifts  his  audience 
to  adore  the  splendor  of  Zeus,  however  dark  the  destiny  he  lays 
upon  men.  This  is  the  only  attitude  which  can  bring  consola- 
tion in  the  tragedy  of  life,  and  the  citizen  feels  that  Sophocles  is 
a  veritable  voice  of  the  people,  exalting  the  old  gods  in  the  new 
time.  Moreover,  in  place  of  the  former  two,  Sophocles  has  three 
actors  in  his  plays,  a  change  which  makes  them  more  interesting 
and  full  of  action.^  Even  old  ^schylus  yielded  to  this  inno- 
vation once  before  he  died.  Yet  too  much  innovation  is  also 
unwelcome  to  the  citizen. 

The  citizen  feels  this  especially  if  it  is  one  of  the  new  sensa- 
tional plays  of  Euripides  which  is  presented.  Euripides  (Fig.  95) 
is  decidedly  an  innovator,  a  younger  poet,  the  son  of  a  farmer 
who  lives  over  on  the  Island  of  Salamis  (Fig.  86) ;  he  has  for 
some  time  been  presenting  plays  at  the  spring  competition.  His 
new  plays  are  all  inwrought  with  problems  and  mental  struggle 
regarding  the  gods,  and  they  have  raised  a  great  many  questions 

1  These  actors  were  once  only  the  leaders  of  the  choruses  at  the  spring  feast 
(see  p.  161). 


T^ 


s^<< 


'Z^  ^ 


,r^\ 


Fig.  94.    The  Theater  of  Athens 

This  theater  was  the  center  of  the  growth  and  development  of  Greek 
drama,  which  began  as  a  part  of  the  celebration  of  the  spring  feast  of 
Dionysus,  god  of  the  vine  and  the  fruitfulness  of  the  earth  (p.  161). 
The  temple  of  the  god  stood  here,  just  at  the  left.  Long  before  any 
one  knew  of  such  a  thing  as  a  theater,  the  people  gathered  at  this 
place  to  watch  the  celebration  of  the  god's  spring  feast,  where  they 
formed  a  circle  about  the  chorus,  which  narrated  in  song  the  stories  of 
the  gods  (p.  161).  This  circle  (called  the  orchestra)  was  finally  marked 
out  permanently,  seats  of  wood  for  the  spectators  were  erected  in  a 
semicircle  on  one  side,  but  the  singing  and  action  all  took  place  in  the 
circle  on  the  level  of  the  ground.  On  the  side  opposite  the  public  was 
a  booth,  or  tent  (Greek  skene,  "  scene"),  for  the  actors,  and  out  of  this 
finally  developed  the  stage.  Here  we  see  the  circle,  or  orchestra, 
with  the  stage  cutting  off  the  back  part  of  the  circle.  The  seats  are  of 
stone  and  accommodated  possibly  seventeen  thousand  people.  The 
fine  marble  seats  in  the  front  row  were  reserved  for  the  leading  men  of 
Athens.  The  old  wooden  seats  were  still  in  use  in  the  days  when 
i^schylus,  Sophocles,  and  Euripides  presented  their  dramas  here,  in 
competition  for  prizes  awarded  to  the  finest  plays  (pp.  190-192).  From 
the  seats  the  citizens  had  a  grand  view  of  the  sea,  with  the  Island  of 
^gina,  their  old-time  rival  (p.  155) ;  and  even  the  heights  of  Argolis, 
forty  miles  away,  were  visible ;  for  orchestra  and  seats  continued 
roofless,  and  a  Greek  theater  was  always  open  to  the  sky.  In  Roman 
times  a  colonnaded  porch  across  the  back  of  the  stage  was  introduced, 
and  such  columns  of  Roman  date  may  be  seen  in  Fig.  74 


191 


192 


Outlines  of  European  History 


and  doubts  which  the  citizen  has  never  been  able  to  banish  from 
his  mind  since  he  heard  them.  In  their  pictures  of  men,  too, 
they  are  nearly  always  very  dark  and  gloomy  and  discouraging. 
The  citizen  determines  that  he  will  use  all  the  influence  he  has 
to  prevent  the  plays  of  Euripides  from  winning  the  prize,  which 
the  State  grants  to  the  most  successful  among  the  competing 

play  writers  each  spring. 

When  the  Athenian  citi- 
zen turns  homeward  from 
the  theater,  he  and  his  neigh- 
bor perhaps  discuss,  as  they 
walk,  how  they  shall  edu- 
cate their  sons.  There  are 
the  old  subjects  which  the 
State  schools  teach :  read- 
ing and  writing,  the  study 
of  the  old  poets,  music  and 
dancing,  and  the  athletic  ex- 
ercises at  the  gymnasium. 
But  their  sons  are  not  satis- 
fied with  these  ;  they  want 
tuition  money  to  hear  the 
lectures  and  the  instruction 
of  private  teachers,  a  class 
of  new  and  clever-witted 
lecturers,  who  wander  from 
city  to  city,  and  whom  the  people  call  "  Sophists."  The 
Sophists  are  far  worse  than  Euripides ;  they  doubt  everything, 
and  make  all  conclusions  impossible.  Yes,  to  be  sure,  but  they 
are  wonderful  speakers,  much  better  than  Herodotus  when  he 
recites  his  historical  tales  in  the  market  place.  And  they  teach 
a  young  man  such  readiness  in  speech  that  he  can  carry  the 
people  with  him  in  the  Assembly.  They  have  indeed  created  a 
new  art,  the  art  of  oratory  and  of  writing  prose,  and  no  young 
man  can  do  without  it. 


Fig.  95.  Portrait  of  Euripides 

The  name  of  the  poet  (p.  191)  is 

engraved  in  Greek  letters  along  the 

lower  edge  of  the  bust 


Tlate  1\'.   a  Corn  El 


iiii:  I'A.. 


Looking  through  the  colonnades  (p.  1S9)  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  build- 
ing to  the  distant  hills  of  liymettus.  On  the  left  is  the  base  of  the  wall  of  the 
interior,  blown  out  by  the  explosion  of  the  Turkish  powder  magazine  (Fig.  91). 
At  the  top  of  this  wall  was  the  frieze  of  Phidias,  extending  around  the  inner 
part  of  the  building  (p.  189  and  Fig.  92).  (F>om  painting  by  Hethe-Lowe, 
Rhine  Prints.  l)v  1>.  G.  Teubner,  Leipzig.    The  l*rang  Company.  New  York) 


TJie  Repulse  of  Pei'sia  and  the  AtJienian  Empire    193 

They  are  such  useful  teachers,  it  is  a  pity  they  are  such  an  Skepticism 
impious  crew,  these  Sophists ;  but  when  one  of  them  actually 
writes  a  book  which  begins  with  a  statement  doubting  the  ex- 
istence of  the  gods,  what  is  a  citizen  to  do  but  vote  that  the 
book  be  burned  ?  And  the  worst  of  it  is  that  there  are  several 
bookshops  in  the  city  and  people  read  such  books.  Why,  even 
the  sausage-peddler  who  delivers  meat  at  the  citizen's  door  can 
read  !  And  the  book  was  read  aloud  in  the  house  of  Euripides 
too  !  There  should  be  no  hesitation  in  condemning  and  banish- 
ing such  infidels,  even  if  they  are  friends  of  Pericles,  and  he 
steps  in  to  help  them.  But  the  citizen  and  his  friend  chuckle 
as  they  recall  how  Pericles  was  well  roasted  for  it  in  the  last 
comic  play  (comedy)  they  went  to  see. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  Sophists  teach  a  little  arithmetic,   Science 
geometry,  and  astronom\',  natural  science  is  a  line  of  progress 
of  which  the  Athenian  citizen  has  not  even  a  vague  intimation. 
To  be  sure,  he  has  seen  on  the  Pnyx  (Fig.  89)  a  strange-looking 
tablet  set  up  by  Meton,  the  builder  and  engineer ;  it  is  said  to    Meton's 
be  a  calendar  which  will  bring  the  short  moon-month  year  (p.  62)   ^^  ^"  ^'' 
and  the  long  solar  year  together  every  nineteen  years.    But  this 
is  all  quite  beyond  the  citizen's  puzzled  mind.    Moreover,  the 
archons  have  all  shaken  their  heads  at  it  and  will  have  nothing 
to  do  with  it.    The  old  moon  months  are  good  enough  for  them. 
But  practical  men  like  Meton,  whose  callings  in  life  carry  them 
into  such  investigations,  are  making  much  progress  in  science. 
The  physician  especially  has  largely  outgrown  the  old  Eg)'ptian    Medicine 
medical  roll  (p.  44)  which  his  fathers  found  very  useful ;  he  has 
made  many  important  and  new  observations  of  his  own,  and 
there  is  even  a  Greek  physician  in  Persia  at  the  court  of  the 
Great  King.   Interesting  progress  is  being  made  in  mathematics 
also   by  the   surveyor,    and   a  new   science   known   as  "  land-   Geometry 
measuring,"  geometry,  is  taking  form. 

The  reader  will  readily  perceive  how  different  from  the  Athens   Athens  the 
of    the  old  days   before   the   Persian  wars  was   this   imperial   the  worW 
Athens !  —  throbbing   with    new    life,   astir  with    a    thousand 


194  Outlines  of  European  History 

questions  eagerly  discussed  at  every  corner,  keenly  awake  to  the 
demand  of  the  greater  State  and  the  sovereign  people,  deeply 
pondering  the  diWes  and  privileges  of  the  individual  who  felt 
new  and  larger  visions  of  himself  conflicting  with  the  exactions 
of  the  State  and  the  old  faith,  already  troubled  by  serious  doubts, 
but  clinging  with  wistful  apprehension  to  the  old  gods  and  the 
old  truths.  Under  Pericles  Athens  had  become,  as  he  desired 
it  should,  the  teacher  of  the  Greek  world.  It  now  remained  to 
be  seen  whether  the  people,  in  sovereign  control  of  the  State, 
could  guide  her  wisely  and  maintain  her  new  power. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  28.  What  was  the  chief  provocation  of  the  war  with 
Persia?  By  what  route  did  Darius  first  attempt  the  invasion  of 
Greece.^  What  route  was  next  adopted?  Where  did  the  Persians 
land  ?  Why  did  not  the  battle  take  place  at  Athens  ?  Describe  the 
device  of  Miltiades.  What  was  the  outcome?  What  was  the  policy 
of  Themistocles?  What  led  the  Athenians  to  vote  the  building  of 
a  fleet? 

What  route  did  Xerxes  select  for  the  next  (third)  Persian  invasion  ? 
Outline  Themistocles'  plan  of  campaign.  Describe  the  batfle  of  Ther- 
mopylae and  Artemisium.  What  was  the  next  move  of  the  Persians  ? 
Describe  the  battle  of  Salamis.  Outline  the  remaining  course  of  the 
campaign  under  Mardonius,  and  the  battle  of  Plataea.  What  was  the 
final  result  of  the  Asiatic  invasion  of  Greece  and  Sicily  ?  What  were 
the  racial  lines  of  the  struggle  ? 

Section  29.  What  rivalry  dominated  the  Greek  situation  after 
the  repulse  of  Persia?  What  did  Themistocles  accomplish  ?  Describe 
the  Delian  League.  Contrast  the  policies  of  Cimon  and  Themistocles. 
What  was  the  fate  of  Themistocles  ? 

What  victory  did  Cimon  win?  Describe  the  Imperial  Party  at 
Athens.  Who  was  its  ablest  young  leader?  What  happened  to 
Cimon?  How  did  democracy  now  gain  complete  leadership  at 
Athens?  Who  became  the  leader  of  the  democracy?  Outline  the 
first  war  with  Sparta  (First  Peloponnesian  War). 

Section  30.  Describe  the  awakening  in  Greece  and  especially 
Athens  after  the  repulse  of  Persia  and  in  the  Age  of  Pericles.  De- 
scribe a  great  painting  of  the  time.     What  buildings   were  being 


The  Repulse  of  Persia  and  the  Athenian  Empire    195 

erected  at  Athens  ?  What  great  sculptor  was  at  work,  and  what  are 
some  of  his  works  ?  Who  were  the  great  dramatists  ?  What  was  the 
position  of  Aeschylus  toward  the  gods  ? 

What  attitude  toward  the  gods  did  Sophocles  teach  ?  What  feeling 
did  Euripides  show  toward  them?  How  did  these  things  affect  the 
life  of  Athens  ?  its  education  ?  Who  were  the  Sophists  ?  What  did 
they  teach?  How  did  the  people  feel  toward  them  ?  Did  the  people 
know  any  science  ?    What  sciences  were  now  making  progress  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  ATHENIAN  EMPIRE  AND 
THE  END  OF  GREEK  POWER 

Section  31.    The  Second  Peloponnesian  War 
AND  THE  Fall  of  Athens 

Jealousy  of  The  outward  splendor  of  Athens,  her  commercial  prosperity, 

of^A^thens  her  not  very  conciliatory  attitude  toward  her  rivals,  the  visible 
growth  of  her  power,  and  the  example  she  offered  of  the  seem- 
ing success  of  triumphant  democracy  —  all  these  things  were 
causes  of  jealousy  to  a  backward  and  conservative  military  State 
like  Sparta  (Fig.  87),  This  feeling  of  unfriendliness  toward 
Athens  was  not  confined  to  Sparta  but  was  quite  general 
throughout  Greece.  The  merchants  of  Corinth  (Fig.  76)  found 
Athenian  competition  a  continuous  vexation,  and  Corinth  did 
all  in  her  power  to  aggravate  the  situation  by  stirring  up  the 
sluggish  Spartans  to  action.  When  Athenian  possessions  in  the 
north  yEgean  revolted  and  received  support  from  Corinth  and 
Sparta,  the  fact  that  hardly  half  of  the  thirty  years'  term  of 
peace  (p.  184)  had  expired  did  not  prevent  the  outbreak  of  war. 
Opening  of  It  seemed  as  if  all  European  Greece  not  included  in  the 

ponnesian  Athenian  Empire  had  united  against  Athens,  for  Sparta  con- 
\\  ar  (431  B.C.)  (-j-Qiig^  ^YiQ  entire  Peloponnesus  except  Argos,  and  north  of 
Attica  Boeotia  led  by  Thebes,  as  well  as  its  neighbors  on  the 
west,  were  hostile  to  Athens.  The  support  of  Athens  consisted 
of  the  ^gean  cities  which  made  up  her  empire  and  a  few  out- 
lying allies  of  little  power.  She  began  the  war  with  a  large  war 
treasury  and  a  fleet  of  warships  which  made  her  undisputed 
mistress  of  the  sea.  But  she  could  not  hope  to  cope  with  the 
land  forces  of  the  enemy,  which,  some  thirty  thousand  strong, 

ig6 


ue  m 
Athens 


71ie  Destnictioii  of  the  Atheiiiaii  Empire          197 

had  planned  to  meet  in  the  Isthmus  in  the  spring  of  431  b.c. 
When  this  army  entered  Attica  the  outlying  communities  were 
at  once  obliged  to  leave  their  homes  and  take  refuge  in  the 
open  markets  and  squares  of  Athens,  the  sanctuaries,  and  espe- 
cially between  the  Long  Walls  leading  to  the  Piraeus.  To  offset 
the  devastation  of  Attica  by  the  Spartan  army,  all  that  Athens 
could  do  was  to  organize  destructive  sea  raids  and  inflict  as 
much  damage  as  possible  along  the  coasts  of  the  Peloponnesus 
or  destroy  Corinthian  commerce  as  of  old. 

The  masses  of  people  crowded  within  the  walls  of  Athens  Flag 
under  unsanitary  conditions  exposed  the  city  to  disease ;  a 
plague,  probably  brought  in  from  the  Orient,  broke  out  in  the 
port,  spread  to  the  city,  and  raged  with  intermissions  for  several 
seasoris.  It  carried  off  probably  a  third  of  the  population,  and 
from  this  unforeseen  disaster  Athens  never  recovered.  With 
such  a  visitation  Pericles  had  of  course  been  unable  to  reckon. 
Constantly  under  arms  for  the  defense  of  the  walls,  deprived 
of  any  opportunity  to  strike  the  enemy,  forced  to  sit  still  and 
see  their  land  ravaged,  the  citizens  at  last  broke  out  in  discontent. 

In  spite  of  his  undaunted  spirit  Pericles  was  unable  to  hold  Fall  and 
the  confidence  of  a.  majority.  He  lost  control,  was  tried  for  Pericles 
misappropriation  of  funds,  and  fined.  The  absence  of  his  steady- 
ing hand  and  powerful  leadership  was  at  once  felt  by  the  people, 
for  there  was  no  one  to  take  his  place,  although  a  swarm  of 
small  politicians  were  contending  for  control  of  the  Assembly. 
Realizing  their  helplessness  the  people  soon  turned  to  Pericles 
again  and  elected  him  strategus,  but  he  was  stricken  with  the 
plague  and  died  soon  after  his  return  to  power.  Great  statesman 
as  he  was,  he  had  left  Athens  with  a  system  of  government 
which  did  not  provide  for  the  continuation  of  such  leadership 
as  he  had  furnished,  and  without  such  leadership  the  Athenian 
Empire  was  doomed.  This  was  the  great  mistake  in  the  states- 
manship of  Pericles. 

Men  of  the  prosperous  manufacturing  class  now  came  to  the 
fore.    They  possessed  neither  the  high  station  in  life,  the  ability 


198 


Outlines  of  European  History 


War  after  the 
death  of 
Pericles 


as  Statesmen,  nor  the  qualities  of  leadership  to  win  the  confi- 
dence and  respect  of  the  people.  Moreover  these  new  leaders 
were  not  soldiers,  and  could  not  command  the  fleet  or  the  army 
as  Pericles  had  done.  The  only  notable  exception  was  Alcibiades, 
a  brilliant  young  man,  a  relative  of  Pericles  and  brought  up  in 
his  house.  The  two  sons  of  Pericles  had  died  of  the  plague, 
and  Alcibiades,  if  he  had  enjoyed  the  guidance  of  his  foster 
father  a  few  years  longer,  might  have  become  the  savior  of 
Athens  and  of  Greece.  As  it  happened,  however,  this  young 
leader  was  more  largely  responsible  than  any  one  else  for 
the  destruction  of  the  Athenian  Empire  and  the  downfall 
of  Greece. 

Unsteadied  by  a  statesman  whose  continuous  policy  formed 
a  firm  and  guiding  influence,  the  management  of  Athenian  affairs 
fell  into  confusion,  rarely  interrupted  by  any  display  of  firmness 
and  wisdom  ;  the  leaders  drifted  from  one  policy  to  another,  and 
usually  from  bad  to  worse.  It  seemed  irapossible  to  regain  stable 
leadership.  The  youthful  Aristophanes  depicted  the  rudderless 
condition  of  the  ship  of  State  in  one  clever  comedy  after  another, 
in  which  he  ridiculed  in  irresistible  satire  the  pretense  to  states- 
manship of  such  "  men  of  the  people  "  as  Cleon  the  tanner.  A 
typical  example  of  the  ill-considered  actions  of  the  Assembly  was 
their  treatment  of  the  revolting  citizens  of  Mitylene.  When  the 
men  of  Mitylene  were  finally  subdued,  the  Assembly  on  the  Pnyx 
(Fig.  89)  voted  that  they  should  all  be  put  to  death,  and  a  ship 
departed  with  these  orders.  It  was  with  gr&at  difficulty  that  a 
more  moderate  group  in  the  Assembly  secured  a  rehearing  of 
the  question  and  succeeded  in  inducing  *the  people  to  modify 
their  barbarous  action  to  the  condemnation  and  execution  of 
the  ringleaders  only.  A  second  ship  then  overtook  the  first 
barely  in  time  to  save  from  death  the  entire  body  of  the  revolting 
citizens  of  Mitylene. 

In  spite  of  such  revolts  Athenian  naval  supremacy  continued  ; 
but  as  the  war  dragged  on,  the  payrnent  of  army  and  fleet  re- 
duced Athenian  funds  to  a  very  low  state.    Cleon  the  tanner 


Nicias 
(421  B.C.) 


the  Peace 
of  Nicias 


The  Destniction  of  the  Athenian  Empire          199 

succeeded  in  having  an  income  tax  introduced,  and  later  on  the 
tribute  of  the  ^gean  cities  was  raised.  The  only  great  battle 
during  the  first  decade  of  the  war  was  fought  at  Delium  in  the 
north,  and  this  the  Athenians  lost ;  but  there  was  really  no  mili- 
tary disaster  of  sufficient  importance  to  cripple  seriously  either 
Sparta  or  Athens.  It  was  the  devastation  wrought  by  the  plague 
which  had  seriously  affected  Athens.  When  after  ten  years  of  Peace  of 
warfare  peace  was  arranged  for  fifty  years,  each  contestant 
agreed  to  give  up  all  new  conquests  and  to  retain  only  old 
possessions  or  subject  cities. 

The  attack  of  the  allies  on  Athens  had  not  realized  their  hope  Failure  of 
of  breaking  up  her  empire  and  overthrowing  her  leadership  of 
the  ^gean  cities.  Nevertheless  Athens  and  the  whole  Greek 
world  had  been  demoralized  and  weakened.  The  contest  had  in 
it  no  longer  the  inspiration  of  a  noble  struggle  such  as  the  Greeks 
had  maintained  against  Persia.  Unprecedented  brutality,  like 
that  at  first  adopted  toward  Mitylene,  had  given  the  struggle 
a  savagery  and  a  lack  of  respect  for  the  enemy  which  com- 
pletely obscured  all  finer  issues,  if  there  were  any  such  involved 
in  the  war.  Meantime  serious  difficulties  arose  in  carrying  out 
the  conditions  of  the  peace.  One  of  the  northern  subject  cities 
of  Athens  which  had  gone  over  to  Sparta  refused  to  return  to 
Athenian  allegiance.  Athens  took  the  unreasonable  ground  that 
Sparta  should  force  the  recalcitrant  city  to  obey  the  terms  of 
peace.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Athens  especially  needed 
such  guidance  as  a  statesman  like  Pericles  could  have  furnished. 
She  was  obliged  to  depend  for  leadership  upon  Nicias,  one  of 
her  old  commanders,  and  the  unprincipled  Alcibiades. 

Nicias  had  adjusted  the  peace  compact  and  he  continued  to  Alcibiades 
urge  a  conciliatory  attitude  toward  Sparta ;  but  the  gifted  and 
reckless  Alcibiades,  seeing  a  great  opportunit}^  for  a  brilliant 
career,  did  all  that  he  could  to  excite  the  war  party  in  Athens. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  troubles  at  home  had  forced  Sparta 
into  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  Athens,  Alcibiades  was  able  to 
carry  the  Assembly  with  him.    After  complicated  negotiations 


brings  on 
war  again 


200 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Sicilian 
expedition 


Nicias  and 
Alcibiades 
in  command 


Flight  of 
Alcibiades 
to  Sparta 


Incompe- 
tence of 
Nicias 


he  involved  Athens  in  an  alliance  with  Argos  against  Sparta, 
and  thus  Attica,  exhausted  with  plagwe  and  ten  years  of  war- 
fare, was  enticed  into  a  lifc-and-death  struggle  which  was  to 
prove  final. 

Several  years  of  ill-planned  military  and  naval  operations 
followed  the  fruitless  peace  of  Nicias.  Under  the  spur  of 
Alcibiades'  persuasion  the  Athenians  at  length  planned  a  great 
joint  expedition  of  army  and  navy  against  Sicily,  where  the 
mighty  Corinthian  city  of  Syracuse  was  leading  in  the  oppres- 
sion of  certain  cities  in  alliance  with  Athens.  The  Athenians 
placed  Alcibiades  and  Nicias  in  command  of  the  expedition. 
Just  as  the  fleet  was  about  to  sail,  certain  sacred  images  about 
the  city  were  impiously  mutilated,  and  the  deed  was  attributed 
to  Alcibiades.  In  spite  of  his  demand  for  an  immediate  trial, 
the  Athenians  postponed  the  case  until  his  return  from  Sicily. 
When  the  fleet  reached  Italy,  however,  the  Athenian  people, 
with  their  usual  inability  to  follow  any  consistent  plan  and  also 
desiring  to  take  Alcibiades  at  a  great  disadvantage,  suddenly 
recalled  him  for  trial.  This  method  of  procedure  not  only  de- 
prived the  expedition  of  its  only  able  leader  but  also  gave 
Alcibiades  an  opportunity  to  desert  to  the  Spartans,  which 
he  promptly  did.  His  advice  to  the  Spartans  now  proved 
fatal  to  the  Athenians. 

Nicias,  though  a  brave  man,  was  totally  lacking  in  initiative 
and  boldness,  such  as  a  Themistocles  or  a  Miltiades  would  have 
shown  under  the  same  circumstances.  The  appearance  of  the 
huge  Athenian  fleet  off  their  coast  struck  dismay  into  the  hearts 
of  the  Syracusans,  but  Nicias  entirely  failed  to  see  the  impor- 
tance of  immediate  attack  before  the  Syracusans  could  recover 
and  make  preparations  for  the  defense  of  their  city.  He  wasted 
the  early  days  of  the  campaign  in  ill- planned  maneuvers,  only 
winning  a  barren  victory  over  the  Syracusan  land  forces.  When 
Nicias  was  finally  induced  by  the  second  general  in  command 
to  begin  the  siege  of  the  city,  courage  had  returned  to  the 
Syracusans  and  their  defense  was  well  organized. 


The  Dcstnu'tioii  of  tJic  AtJienimi  Empire         201 
On  the  advice  of  Alcibiades  the  Spartans  had  sent  an  able   A  Spartan 

imande 
Syracuse 


commander  with  a  small  force  to  support  Syracuse,  and  the   ^°™"^^"  ^^ 


city  was  confident  in  its  new  ally.  When  Nicias  made  no  prog- 
ress in  the  siege,  Athens  responded  to  his  call  for  help  -with  a 
second  fleet  and  more  land  forces.  No  Greek  state  had  ever  Athenian  re- 
mustered  such  power  and  sent  it  far  across  the  waters.  All  ^"^^'^'^ei^ents 
Greece  watched  the  spectacle  with  amazement.  Meantime  the 
Syracusans  too  had  organized  a  fleet.  The  Athenians  were 
obliged  to  give  battle  in  the  narrow  harbor,  where  there  was  no 
room  for  maneuvers  or  for  any  display  of  their  superior  seaman- 
ship, and  the  fleet  of  Syracuse  was  victorious  in  several  actions. 
The  Athenians  were  caught  as  they  themselves  had  caught  the 
Persians  at  Salamis  two  generations  before. 

With  disaster  staring  him  in  the  face,  the  superstitious  Nicias  Capture  of 
refused  to  withdraw  in  time  because  of  an  eclipse  of  the  moon,  fleet^am? 
and  insisted  on  waiting  another  month.  The  Syracusans  then  ^^"^y 
blockaded  the  channel  to  the  sea  and  completely  shut  up  the 
Athenian  fleet  within  the  harbor,  so  that  an  attempt  to  break 
through  and  escape  disastrously  failed.  The  desperate  Athenian 
army,  abandoning  sick  and  wounded  too  late,  endeavored  to 
escape  into  the  interior,  but  was  overtaken  and  forced  to  sur- 
render. After  executing  the  commanding  generals,  the  Syracu- 
sans took  the  prisoners,  seven  thousand  in  number,  and  sold 
them  into  slavery  or  threw  them  into  the  stone  quarries  of  the 
city,  where  most  of  them  miserably  perished.  Thus  the  Athenian 
expedition  was  not  only  defeated,  but  captured  and  completely 
destroyed  (413  B.C.).  This  disaster,  together  with  the  earlier 
ravages  of  the  plague,  brought  Athens  near  the  end  of  her 
resources. 

Sparta,  seeing  the  unprotected  condition  of  Athens,  now  no   Decelean 
longer  hesitated  to  undertake  a  campaign  into  Attica.    On  the  begins 
advice  of  Alcibiades,  again  the  Spartans  occupied  the  town  of 
Decelea,  almost  within  sight  of  Athens.    Here  they  established 
a  permanent  fort  held  by  a  strong  garrison,  and  thus  placed 
Athens  in  a  state  of  perpetual  siege.   All  agriculture  ceased  and 


hostilities 


202 


Outlijies  of  European  History 


Athenian 
distress 


Aristocrats 
regain  power 


Restoration 
of  the 
democracy 


Greek 
overtures 
to  Persia 


Recall  of 
Alcibiades 


*1V(.' 


'■) 


the  Athenians  lived  on  imported  grain.  The  people  now  under- 
stood the  folly  of  having  sent  away  on  a  distant  expedition  the 
ships  and  the  men  that  should  have  been  kept  at  home  to  repel 
the  attacks  of  a  powerful  and  still  uninjured  foe.  The  ^gean 
cities  of  the  Empire  began  to  fall  away ;  there  was  no  way  to 
raise  further  funds,  but  by  desperate  efforts  a  small  fleet  was 
gotten  together  to  continue  the  struggle. 

The  failure  of  the  democracy  in  the  conduct  of  the  war  enabled 
the  opponents  of  popular  rule  to  regain  power.  For  a  time  the 
old  Council  was  overthrown  and  in  the  name  of  a  new  council, 
in  the  election  of  which  the  people  had  little  voice,  a  group  of 
aristocratic  leaders  ushered  in  a  period  of  violence  and  blood- 
shed. These  men  strove  to  restore  peace  with  Sparta,  but  their 
own  excesses  and  the  war  sentiment  in  the  fleet  provoked  a 
reaction  too  strong  to  be  overcome.  The  democracy  with  some 
modifications  was  restored. 

Both  Athens  and  Sparta  had  long  been  negotiating  with 
Persia  for  support,  and  Sparta  had  concluded  an  agreement 
with  Persia,  which  recognized  Persian  rule  over  the  Greek 
cities  of  Asia.  Alcibiades  had  now  fallen  out  with  the  Spartans 
and  gone  over  to  Persia.  He  skillfully  used  his  influence  with 
the  Persians  to  arouse  their  hostility  toward  Sparta  and  attach 
them  to  Athens.  He  intended  this  action  to  pave  the  way  for 
his  return  to  favor  with  his  own  fellow  citizens,  and  it  did  in 
fact  lead  to  his  recall  and  appointment  to  command  the  Athe- 
nian fleet.  Thus  the  one-time  union  of  jGreece  in  a  heroic 
struggle  against  the  Asiatic  enemy  had  given  \vav  to  a  disgrace- 
ful  scramble  for  Persian  support  and  favor.  The  only  benefits 
resulting  were  enjoyed  by  Persia  as  she  stood  by  and  watched 
the  Hellenes  exhausting  their  power  and  squandering  their 
wealth  in  a  fruitless  struggle  among  themselves.  A  naval  defeat 
followed  by  several  victories  of  the  x\thenian  fleet  enabled  the 
blind  leaders  of  the  people's  party  at  Athens  to  refuse  Spartan 
offers  of  peace  more  than  once,  at  a  time  when  the  continuance 
of  war  was  the  most  evident  folly. 


TJie  Destruction  of  the  Athenian  Empire         203 

Then  the  Attic  fleet  of  a  hundred  and  eighty  ships,  lulled   Battle  of 
into  false  security  in  the  Hellespont  near  the  river  called  yEgos-      gospotami 
potami,  was  surprised  by  the  able  Spartan  commander  Lysander 
and  captured  almost  intact  as  it  lay  drawn  up  on  the  beach. 
Not  a  man  slept  on  the  night  when  the  terrible  news  of  final 
ruin  reached  Athens.    It  was  soon  confirmed  by  the  appearance 
of  Lysander's  fleet  blockading  the  Pirasus.    The  grain  ships 
from  the  Black  Sea  could  no  longer  reach  the  port  of  Athens ; 
the  Spartan  army  wandered  through  Attica  plundering  at  will. 
Athens  saw^  starvation  before  her,  and  there  was  nothing  to  do 
but  surrender.    The  Long  Walls  and  the  fortifications  of  the 
Piraeus  were  torn  down,  the  remnant  of  the  fleet  handed  over 
to  Sparta,  and  Athens  was  forced  to  enter  the  Spartan  League.    Fall  of 
These  hard  conditions  saved  the  city  from  the  complete  destruc-  destruction  of 
tion  demanded  by  Corinth.   Thus  the  century  which  had  begun   ^^'^ire^"'^" 
so  gloriously  for  Athens  with  the  repulse  of  Persia,  the  century 
which  under  the  leadership  of  such  men  as  Themistccles  and 
Pericles  had  seen  her  rise  to  supremacy  in  all  that  was  best  and 
noblest  in  Greek  life,  closed  with  the  annihilation  of  the  Athenian 
Empire  (404  B.C.). 

Section  32.    The  Higher  Life  of  Athens  after 
Pericles 

During  this   last  quarter  century  which  brought  such  ruin   Conflict  of 
upon  her,  the  inner  life  of  Athens  was  more  than  ever  a  seeth-   modernism 
ing  whirlpool  of  conflicting  tendencies,  in  which  the  old  currents 
of  life,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  fathers,  met  the  counter 
currents  of  more  modern  feeling  and  discernment.    All  felt  the 
supreme  importance  of  the  State  and  of  the  high  mission  of 
Athens,  so  long  held  up  before  their  eyes  by  Pericles.    At  the   History  of 
very  time  when  Pericles  fell  a  victim  to  the  plague  Herodotus 
had  issued  his  history  (p.  188).    It  was  a  history  of  the  world 
so  told  that  the  glorious  leadership  of  Athens  would  be  clear  to 
all  Greeks  and  would  show  them  that  to  her  the  Hellenes  owed 


204 


Outlines  of  European  History 


their  deliverance  from  Persia.  Throughout  Greece  it  created  a 
deep  impression,  but  so  tremendous  was  its  effect  in  Athens 
that,  in  spite  of  the  financial  drain  of  war,  the  Athenians  voted 
Herodotus  a  reward  of  ten  talents,  some  thirteen  thousand 
dollars.  In  this  earliest  history  of  the  world  which  has  come 
down  to  us,  Herodotus  traced  the  course  of  events  as  he 
believed  them  to  be  directed  by  the  will  of  the  gods,  and  as 
prophesied  in  their  divine  oracles.  There  was  little  or  no  effort 
to  explain  events  as  the  result  of  natural  processes,  even  though 
Herodotus  was  too  modem  and  had  seen  too  much  of  the 
ancient  Orient  to  believe  that  the  gods  were  actually  present 
and  active  on  earth  only  a  few  generations  back. 

But  the  old  beliefs  of  the  fathers  regarding  the  gods  had 
been  rudely  disturbed  by  such  men  as  the  Sophists,  and  by  the 
insistent  problems  of  destiny  which  the  tragedies  of  Euripides 
still  placed  upon  the  stage  (Fig.  94).    The  people  responded 

Aristophanes  with  delight  to  the  mockery  with  which  Aristophanes  in  his 
comedies  ridiculed  the  mental  stmggles  of  Euripides,  and  they 
keenly  enjoyed  the  railleries  in  which  he  travestied  the  teaching 
and  methods  of  the  Sophists.  To  be  sure,  they  were  also  obliged 
to  see  the  rule  of  the  people  with  all  its  weaknesses  and  mis- 
takes ridiculed  on  the  same  stage,  much  as  w^e  see  the  faults 
of  our  own  lawmakers  caricatured  in  the  cartoons  which  adorn 
our  daily  papers.  Thus,  while  the  citizens  were  still  ready  for 
any  popular  experiment  in  government  by  the  people  at  the 
expense  of  the  aristocrats,  they  shared  the  feelings  of  the  aris- 
tocrats in  their  resentment  toward  those  who  stirred  up  doubt 
regarding  the  gods  of  the  fathers. 

Socrates  Aristophanes  was  sure  of  a  sympathetic  audience  of  Athe- 

nians when  he  put  upon  the  stage  a  caricature  of  a  certain  pes- 
tiferous citizen,  whose  ill-clothed  figure  and  ugly  face  (Fig.  96) 
had  become  familiar  in  the  streets  to  all  the  folk  of  Athens 
since  the  outbreak  of  the  second  war  with  Sparta.  He  had  just 
returned  from  a  campaign  in  the  north  ;  his  name  was  Socrates, 
and  he  was  the  son  of  a  stone  mason.    He  was  accustomed  to 


The  Destnictioji  of  the  Athenian  Empire         205 


stand  about  the  market  place,  the  street  corners,  and  the  public 
baths  all  day  long,  insisting  on  engaging  in  conversation  every 
citizen  he  met,  and  asking  a  great  many  questions,  which  left 
the  average  citizen  in  a  very  con- 
fused state  of  mind.  He  seemed 
to  call  in  question  everything  which 
the  citizen  had  formerly  regarded 
as  settled.  Yet  this  familiar  and 
homely  figure  of  the  stone  mason's 
son  was  the  personification  of  the 
best  and  highest  in  Greek  genius. 
Without  desire  for  office  or  a 
political  career,  Socrates'  supreme 
interest  nevertheless  was  the  State. 
He  believed  that  the  State,  made 
up  as  it  was  of  citizens,  could  be 
purified  and  saved  only  by  the  im- 
provement of  the  individual  citizen 
through  the  education  of  his  mind 
to  recognize  virtue  and  right. 

Herein  lies  the  supreme  achieve- 
ment of  Socrates  as  he  daily  con- 
fronted problems  which  the  mind 
of  man  was  clearly  stating  for  the 
first  time ;  he  planted  his  feet 
upon  what  he  regarded  as  an  im- 
movable rock  of  truth ;  namely, 
that  the  human  mind  is  able  to 
recognize  and  determine  what  are 
truth  and  virtue,  beauty  and 
honesty,  and  all  the  other  great 
ideas    which    mean    so    much    to 

human  life.  To  him  these  ideas  had  reality.  He  taught  that 
by  keen  questioning  and  discussion  it  is  possible  to  reject  error 
and  discern  these  realities.    Inspired  by  this  impregnable  belief, 


Fig.  96.   Portrait  of 
Socrates 

This  is  not  the  best  of  the 
numerous  surviving  portraits 
of  Socrates,  but  it  is  especially 
interesting  because  it  bears 
under  the  philosopher's  name 
nine  inscribed  lines  contain- 
ing a  portion  of  his  public  de- 
fense as  reported  by  Plato  in 
his  Apology 


2o6 


Outlines  of  European  History 


His  belief  in 
man's  power 
to  discern  the 
great  truths 
as  such  and 
to  shape  his 
conduct  by 
them 


Socrates  went  about  in  Athens,  engaging  all  his  fellow  citizens 
in  such  discussion,  convinced  that  he  might  thus  lead  each 
citizen  in  turn  to  a  knowledge  of  the  leading  and  compelling 
virtues.  Furthermore,  he  firmly  believed  that  the  citizen  who 
had  once  recognized  these  virtues  would  shape  every  action  and 
all  his  life  by  them.  Socrates  thus  revealed  the  power  of  virtue 
and  similar  ideas  by  argument  and  logic,  but  he  made  no  appeal 
to  religion  as  an  influence  toward  good  conduct.  Nevertheless 
he  showed  himself  a  deeply  religious  man,  believing  with  devout 
heart  in  the  gods,  although  they  were  not  exactly  those  of  the 
fathers,  and  even  feeling,  like  the  Hebrew  prophets,  that  there 
was  a  divine  voice  within  him,  calling  him  to  his  high  mission. 

The  simple  but  powerful  personality  of  this  greatest  of  Greek 
teachers  in  the  streets  of  Athens  often  opened  to  him  the 
houses  of  the  rich  and  noble.  His  fame  spread  far  and  wide, 
and  when  the  Delphian  oracle  (Fig.  82)  was  asked  who  was  the 
wisest  of  the  living,  it  responded  with  the  name  of  Socrates.  A 
group  of  pupils  gathered  about  him,  among  whom  the  most 
famous  was  Plato.  But  it  was  inevitable  that  his  aims  and  his 
noble  efforts  on  behalf  of  the  Athenian  state  should  be  misunder- 
stood. His  keen  questions  seemed  to  throw  doubt  upon  all  the 
old  beliefs.  The  Athenians  had  already  vented  their  displeasure 
on  more  than  one  leading  Sophist  who  had  rejected  the  old 
faith  and  teaching  (see  p.  193)- 

They  summoned  Socrates  to  trial  for  corrupting  the  youth. 
Such  examples  as  Alcibiades,  who  had  been  his  pupil,  seemed 
convincing  illustrations  of  the  viciousness  of  his  teaching ;  every- 
body had  seen  and  many  had  read  with  growing  resentment  the 
comedy  of  Aristophanes  which  held  him  up  to  contempt  and 
execration.  Socrates  might  easily  have  left  Athens  when  the 
complaint  was  lodged  against  him.  Nevertheless  he  appeared 
for  trial,  made  a  powerful  and  dignified  defense  (Fig.  96),  and, 
when  the  court  voted  the  death  penalty,  passed  his  last  days  in 
tranquil  conversation  with  his  friends  and  pupils,  in  whose  pres- 
ence he  then  quietly  drank  the  fatal  hemlock  (400  B.C.).    Thus 


The  DestTiictioii  of  tJic  Athenian  Empire 


207 


the  Athenian  democracy,  which  had  so  fatally  mismanaged  the   Execution 
affairs  of  the  nation  in  war,  brought  upon  itself  much  greater 
reproach  in  condemning  to  death,  even  though  in  accordance 
with  law,  the  greatest  and  purest  soul  among  its  citizens  (Fig.  97), 


MWA  ,>.^- 


iXvkvik -....-_ 


Fig.  97.    Street  of  Tombs  outside  Ancient  Athens 

It  was  the  custom  both  of  Greeks  and  Romans  (Fig.  127)  to  bury  their 
dead  outside  one  of  the  city  gates,  on  either  side  of  the  highway.  This 
Athenian  cemetery,  outside  the  Dipylon  Gate  (see  plan,  p.  173),  was  on 
the  Sacred  Way  to  Eleusis  (Fig.  So,  and  plan,  p.  173),  both  sides  of  which 
were  lined  for  some  distance  with  marble  tomb-monuments.  The  Ro- 
man Sulla  (p.  265),  in  his  eastern  war,  while  besieging  Athens,  piled  up 
earth  as  a  causeway  leading  to  the  top  of  the  wall  of  Athens  (see  plan, 
p.  173)  at  this  point.  The  part  of  the  cemetery  which  he  covered  with 
earth  was  thus  preserved,  to  be  dug  out  in  modern  times  —  the  only 
surviving  portion  of  such  an  ancient  Greek  street  of  tombs.  In  this 
cemetery  the  Athenians  of  Socrates'  day  were  buried.  The  monument 
at  the  left  shows  a  brave  Athenian  youth  on  horseback,  charging  the 
fallen  enemy.  He  was  slain  in  battle  against  Corinth  and  buried  here  a 
few  years  after  the  death  of  Socrates  (p.  207) 

The  undisturbed  serenity  of  Socrates  in  his  last  hours,  as  The  influence 

pictured  to  us  in  Plato's  idealized  version  of  the  scene,  pro-  after  his 

foundly  affected  the  whole  Greek  world,  and  still  forms  one  of  ^^^^^ 
the  most  precious  possessions  of  humanity.    But  the  glorified 


2o8  Oiitlines  of  EiLwpemt  History 

figure  of  Socrates,  as  he  appears  in  the  writings  of  his  pupils, 
was  to  prove  more  powerful  even  than  the  living  teacher.  The 
past  could  not  be  recalled,  and,  in  spite  of  themselves,  thinking 
people  were  tinctured  through  and  through  with  the  very  views 
which  they  had  striven  to  stamp  out  by  such  means  as  the  verdict 
Thucydides  against  Socrates.  The  historian  Thucydides,  who  was  now  writ- 
ing his  great  account  of  the  wars  which  destroyed  the  xA.thenian 
Empire,  no  longer  discerned  only  the  will  of  the  gods  in  these 
events  but,  with  an  insight  like  that  of  modern  historians,  was 
tracing  events  to  their  natural  causes  in  the  world  of  men  where 
they  occur. 

Section  33.    The  Age  of  Spartan  Leadership 

The  leader-  The  long  duel  for  supremacy  in  the  Greek  world  between 

Athens  and  Sparta,  which  occupied  a  large  part  of  the  latter 
half  of  the  fifth  century  before  Christ,  ended  toward  the  close 
of  that  century  in  the  complete  collapse  of  Athens.  While  the 
two  states  were  devouring  one  another  Persia  had  again  appeared 
on  the  scene,  and  it  was  only  by  the  use  of  Persian  money  that 
Sparta  had  compassed  the  destruction  of  the  last  Athenian  fleet. 
It  now  remained  to  be  seen  whether  Sparta  (Fig.  87)  could 
maintain  the  leadership  of  the  Greek  world,  and  thrust  back  the 
Persians  in  Asia  as  Athens  had  done. 
Lysander  Sparta  was  now  dominated  by  the  commanding  figure  of 

methods  Lysandcr,  who  had  destroyed  the  last  remnants  of  Attic  sea 

power.  Under  his  guidance  the  popular  party  in  each  of  the 
city-states,  including  Athens,  was  deprived  of  power  as  far  as 
possible,  and  the  control  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  group  of  the 
old  aristocrats.  A  garrison  under  a  Spartan  officer  was  placed 
in  many  of  the  cities,  and  Spartan  control  was  maintained  in  much 
more  offensive  form  than  was  the  old  tyranny  of  xA.thens  in  her 
empire  over  the  island  cities,  against  which  Sparta  had  always 
protested.  The  Athenian  democracy,  however,  finally  regained 
and  maintained  control  of  Attic  affairs. 


The  Age  of  Spartan  Leadership  209 

It  is  one  of  the  ironies  of  the  whole  deplorable  situation  that   War  between 
when  Sparta  finally  fell  out  with  Persia,  and  stepped  in  to  defend   |ersia  ^"^ 
the  Ionian  cities,  a  fleet  of  Athens  made  common  cause  with  the 
Persians  and  helped  to  fasten  Persian  despotism  on  the  Greek 
cities  of  Asia.    The  Greeks  had  learned  nothing  by  their  long 
and  unhappy  experience  of  fruitless  wars.    When  peace  was  at 
last  established  it  was  under  the  humiliating  terms  of  a  treaty 
accepted  by  Hellas  at  the  hands  of  the  Persian  king,  to  whom 
the  Greek  states  had  appealed.    It  is  known  as  the  King's  Peace   King's  Peace 
(387  B.C.).    It  recognized  the  leadership  of  Sparta  over  all  the     ^ 
Greek  states ;  but  the  Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor  were  shame- 
fully abandoned  to  Persia. 

The  period  of  the  King's  Peace  brought  only  discontent  with   Greece  under 
Sparta's  control  and  no  satisfactory  solution  of  the  question  of  ^he  King" 
the  relations  of  the  Greek  states  among  themselves.    The  in-   ^^^^^ 
flexible  militar}'  organization  of  Sparta  had  long  ago  smothered 
individual  aspirations  for  a  higher  culture,  and  even  all  individ- 
ual genius  in  leadership  had  been  suppressed.    Even  men  like 
Pausanias,  the  victor  over  the  Persians  at  Plataea,  or  Lysander, 
the  conqueror  of  the  Athenian  fleet  at  yEgospotami,  were  unable 
to  transform  the  rigid  Spartan  system  into  a  government  which 
should  sympathetically  include  and  direct  the  activities  of  the 
whole  Greek  world. 

At  Athens  the  burning  question  had  now  become  the  problem   Rise  of  the 
of  the  proper  form  of  a  free  state  —  the  problem  which  the 


government 


efforts  of  Socrates  toward  an  enlightened  citizenship  had  thrust 
into  the  foreground.  What  should  be  the  form  of  the  ideal  state  .'' 
The  Orient  had  already  had  its  social  idealism.  By  2000  B.C.  the 
Egyptian  sages  were  striving  for  a  state  which  should  realize 
brotherly  kindness  and  social  justice.  The  more  hopeful  among 
them  thought  to  find  it  under  a  righteous  king  and  just  officials. 
Later  on  in  the  eighth  centur)^  B.C.  the  Hebrews  also  had  begun 
to  dream  of  an  ideal  state  ruled  by  a  righteous  king  like  the 
David  of  their  fond  idealization  of  the  past.  In  the  Orient,. how- 
ever, it  had  never  occurred  to  these  social  dreamers  to  discuss 


2IO  Outlines  of  European  History 

the  form  of  government  of  the  ideal  state.  They  accepted  as  a 
matter  of  course  the  monarchy  under  which  they  lived  as  the 
obvious  form  for  the  state.  But  in  Greece  the  question  of  the 
form  of  government,  whether  a  kingdom,  a  republic,  or  what  not, 
was  now  earnestly  discussed.  Thus  there  arose  a  new  science, 
the  scie?ice  of  governjnent. 

Plato  Plato,  the  most  gifted  pupil  of  Socrates,  published  much  of 

his  beloved  master's  teaching  in  the  form  of  dialogues,  sup- 
posedly reproducing  the  discussions  of  the  great  teacher  himself. 
Then  after  extensive  travels  in  Egypt  and  the  west  he  returned 
to  Athens,  where  he  set  up  his  school  in  a  grove  near  the  gym- 
nasium of  Academus  (hence  our  word  "  academy  ").  Convinced 
of  the  hopelessness  of  democracy  in  Athens,  he  reluctantly  gave 
up  all  thought  of  a  career  as  a  statesman,  to  which  he  had  been 
strongly  drawn,  and  devoted  himself  to  teaching.  He  was  both 
philosopher  and  poet.  The  ideas  which  Socrates  maintained  the 
human  mind  could  discern,  became  for  Plato  eternal  realities, 
having  an  existence  independent  of  man  and  his  mind.  The 
♦  human  soul,  he  taught,  had  always  existed,  and  in  an  earlier  state 

had  beheld  the  great  ideas  of  goodness,  beauty,  evil,  and  the  like, 
and  had  gained  an  intuitive  vision  of  them  which  in  this  earthly 
life  the  soul  now  recalled,  and  recognized  again.  The  elect  souls, 
'gifted  with  such  vision,  were  the  ones  to  control  the  ideal  state, 
for  they  would  necessarily  act  in  accordance  with  the  ideas  of 
virtue  and  justice  which  they  had  discerned.  It  was  possible  by 
education,  thought  Plato,  to  lead  the  souls  of  men  to  a  clear 
vision  of  these  ideas. 

Plato's  ideal  In   a   noble   essay   entitled    The  Republie  Plato  presents   a 

lofty  vision  of  his  ideal  state.  Here  live  the  enlightened  souls 
governing  a  society  which  is  the  embodiment  of  righteousness 
and  justice.  They  do  no  work,  but  depend  on  craftsmen  and 
slaves  for  all  menial  labor.  And  yet  the  comforts  and  luxury 
which  they  enjoy  are  the  product  of  that  very  world  of  industry 
and  commerce  in  a  Greek  city  which  Plato  so  thoroughly  de- 
spises.  The  plan  places  far  too  much  dependence  on.  education, 


state 


The  Age  of  Spartan  Leadership  2 1 1 

and  takes  no  account  of  the  dignity  and  fundamental  importance 
of  labor  in  human  society.  Moreover,  Plato's  ideal  state  is  the 
self-contained,  self -controlling  city-state  as  it  had  in  times  past 
supposedly  existed  in  Greece.  He  fails  to  perceive  that  the  vital 
question  for  Gree(^  is  now  the  relation  of  these  eities  to  each 
other.  He  does  not  discern  that  the  life  of  a  cultivated  state 
unavoidably  expands  beyond  its  borders,  and  by  its  needs  and 
its  contributions  affects  the  life  of  surrounding  states.  It  cannot 
be  confined  within  its  political  borders,  for  its  commercial  borders 
lie  as  far  distant  as  its  galleys  can  carry  its  produce. 

Thus  boundary  lines  cannot  separate  nations  ;  their  life  over-   Growth  of  a 
laps  and  interfuses  with  the  life  round  about  them.    It  was  so   wo^rld"^^^ 
within  Greece  and  it  was  so  far  beyond  the  borders  of  Greek 
territory.    There  had  grown  up  an  ancient  world  which  was  read- 
ing Greek  books,  using  Greek  utensils,  fitting  up  its  houses  with 
Greek  furniture,  decorating  its  house  interiors  with  Greek  paint- 
ings, building  Greek  theaters,  learning  Greek  tactics  in  war  — 
a  great  Mediterranean  and  Oriental  world  bound  together  by 
lines  of  commerce,  travel,  and  common  economic  interests.    For 
this  world,  as  a  coming  political  unity,  the  lofty  idealist  Plato,  in   Lack  of 
spite  of  his  travels,  had  no  eyes.    To  this  world,  once  dominated   caUeadership 
by  oriental  culture,  the  Greeks  had  given  the  noblest  and  sanest   ^^  ^^^  ^^^^}^ 

■'  '  *^  aominated  by 

ideas  yet  attained  by  the  mind  of  civilized  man,  and  to  this  world   Hellas 
likewise  the  Greeks  should  have  given  political  leadership. 

Men  in  practical  life,  like  Isocrates,  a  very  able  Athenian  isocrates 
writer  of  political  pamphlets,  clearly  understood  the  situation 
at  this  time  (first  half  of  the  fourth  century  B.C.).  Isocrates 
urged  the  Greeks  to  bury  their  petty  differences,  and  expand 
their  local  patriotism  into  a  loyalty  for  the  united  Greek  world. 
He  told  his  countrymen  that,  so  united,  they  could  easily  over- 
throw the  decaying  Persian  Empire  and  make  themselves  lords 
of  the  world,  whereas  now  they  were  but  the  feeble  creatures  of 
the  king  of  Persia.  Xeriophon  also,  who  had  marched  into  the  Xenophon 
heart  of  the  Persian  Empire  with  the  ten  thousand  Greek  troops 
hired  by  Cyrus  the  Persian  prince  to  assist  him  in  overthrowing 


212 


Outlines  of  Einvpcaii  Histoiy 


his  brother,  Artaxerxes  W,  —  Xenophon  had  witnessed  the  de- 
feat of  a  large  Persian  army  of  archers  by  the  impact  of  the 
irresistible  Greek  phalanx.  Xenophon  wrote  out  the  story  of  his 
journey,  and  his  book  was  widely  read.  To  all  Greece  the  weak- 
ness of  the  Persian  State  was  obvious.  Every  motive  toward 
unity  was  present.  But  yet  no  Greek  city  was  ready  to  submit 
to  the  leadership  of  another,  and  no  plan  of  federation  could  be 
devised  which  proved  satisfactory  to  all. 


Athens  and 
Thebes  unite 
against 
Sparta 


Destruction 
of  Spartan 
power  and 
the  leader- 
ship of 
Thebes 


Section  34.    The  Leadership  of  Thebes 

\Mthin  ten  years  after  the  beginning  of  the  King's  Peace, 
Athens  had  recovered  sufficient  sea  power  to  begin  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  second  maritime  alliance  like  her  old  Empire.  The 
Spartan  fleet  was  beaten  and  an  alliance  with  Thebes  was  ar- 
ranged which  greatly  disquieted  Sparta.  Thebes  succeeded  in 
gaining  the  leadership  of  Boeotia,  and  when  during  the  arrange- 
ment of  a  peace  with  Sparta  the  Spartans  refused  to  recognize 
Thebes  as  the  head  of  Boeotia,  the  Thebans  made  ready  to 
oppose  the  Spartan  invasion  and  the  two  armies  met  at  Leuctra. 
The  skillful  Theban  commander  Epaminondas  drew  up  his 
troops  in  a  manner  altogether  novel,  so  placing  his  line  that  it 
was  not  parallel  with  that  of  the  Spartans,  his  right  wing  being 
much  further  from  the  Spartan  line  than  his  left.  At  the  same 
time  he  massed  his  troops  on  his  left  wing,  making  it  many 
shields  deep.    This  last  was  an  old  device.^ 

As  the  lines  moved  into  action  the  battle  did  not  begin  along 
the  whole  front  at  once  ;  but  the  Theban  left  wing,  being  furthest 
advanced,  met  the  Spartan  line  first  and  was  at  first  engaged 
alone.  Its  onset  proved  so  heavy  that  the  Spartan  right  oppos- 
ing it  was  soon  crushed,  and  the  rest  of  the  Spartan  line  was 
unable  to  stand  as  the  Theban  center  and  right  came  into  action. 

1  It  is  frequently  stated  that  the  new  device  of  Epaminondas  was  the  massing 
on  his  left  wing.  But  this  was  not  a  new  device ;  the  Thebans  had  employed  it 
against  the  Athenians  at  the  battle  of  Delium  (424  B.C.)  Epaminondas's  innova- 
tion consisted  in  the  obliqueness  of  his  line  of  battle  as  it  advanced. 


The  Leadership  of  Thebes  213 

The  long  invincible  Spartan  army  was  thus  at  last  defeated. 
While  continuing  the  war  into  Spartan  territory,  even  to  Sparta 
itself/  Thebes  under  Epaminondas's  leadership  likewise  created 
a  navy  and  greatly  weakened  Athenian  supremacy  at  sea.  Thus, 
with  Spartan  power  at  last  shattered,  and  Athens  held  in  check 
on  the  sea,  Thebes  gained  the  leadership  of  Greece. 

But  it  was  a  supremacy  based  upon  the  genius  of  a  single   Collapse 
man,  and  when  Epaminondas  fell  in  a  final  battle  with  Sparta  °  ^  ^  ^^ 
at  Mantinea  (362  B.C.),  the  power  of  Thebes  by  land  and  sea 
again  collapsed.    Thus  the  only  powerful  Greek  states,  which 
might  have  developed  a  federation  of  the  Hellenic  world,  having 
destroyed  each  other,  were  ready  to  fall  helplessly  before  the 
conqueror  from  the  outside.    He  appeared  in  the  person  of 
Philip  of  Macedon,  the  father  of  Alexander  the  Great.    Nor 
were  the  powerful  and  highly  civilized  Greek  cities  of  the  west 
in  Italy  and  Sicily,  like  Syracuse,  able  to  assume  the  political   Final  political 
leadership  of  the  Hellenes.    The  Greek  world,  whose  culture   Se  whole"  ""^ 
was  everywhere  supreme,  was  politically  prostrate  and  helpless.   Greek  world 

QUESTIONS 

Section  31.  What  causes  contributed  to  hostilities  between 
Athens  and  Sparta  ?  W^ho  were  the  other  enemies  of  Athens  t  By 
whom  was  she  supported .?  What  catastrophe  caused  the  fall  of 
Pericles?  Had  he  founded  a  system  which  left  to  Athens  wise  and 
stable  leadership  ?  Give  some  account  of  Alcibiades.  What  kind  of 
leadership  did  Athens  now  receive?  Give  an  example.  What  was 
the  result  of  ten  years  of  war  ? 

What  spirit  had  pervaded  the  struggle?  Why  did  the  peace  of 
Nicias  fail  ?  Who  brought  on  war  again  ?  Tell  the  story  of  the 
Sicilian  expedition.  What  did  Sparta  do  after  the  destruction  of  the 
Sicilian  expedition  ?  Give  an  account  of  the  Decelean  W^ar.  What 
kind  of  leadership  did  the  Athenian  democracy  furnish  in  this  war? 
What  was  the  outcome?    What  became  of  the  Athenian  Empire? 

Section  32.  In  what  condition  was  the  higher  life  of  Athens 
after  the  death  of  Pericles?    What  was  the  purpose  of  the  history 

1  Where  the  city  was  still  without  walls  (see  Fig.  87  and  explanation). 


214  Outlines  of  European  History 

of  Herodotus  ?  To  what  causes  does  Herodotus  trace  events  in  the 
history  of  men?  What  happened  to  the  old  behefs  about  the  gods? 
What  attitude  did  Aristophanes  take  toward  the  Sophists  and  Eu- 
ripides? What  was  the  attitude  of  the  people?  Tell  something  of 
the  life  of  Socrates. 

What  was  his  method  of  teaching?  W^hat  was  his  supreme  inter- 
est? What  did  he  teach?  What  were  the  realities  to  him?  How 
did  he  believe  they  could  be  discerned  ?  What  was  his  purpose  ?  Of 
w'hat  in  particular  was  he  the  champion  ?  How  was  he  regarded  in 
Athens  and  in  Greece?  Give  an  account  of  his  last  days.  Did  his 
teaching  die  with  him?  Where  did  the  historian  Thucydides  find 
the  causes  for  the  events  in  the  history  of  men  ? 

Section  33.  Describe  Spartan  methods  of  controlling  the  other 
Greek  states.  What  were  now  the  relations  between  the  Greeks  and 
Persia?  How  did  the  Spartan  system  affect  her  leading  men?  How 
did  the  study  which  w-e  may  call  the  science  of  government  arise? 
Relate  the  career  of  Plato.  Describe  his  ideal  state.  Wherein  does 
it  fail  to  be  practical  ? 

What  kind  of  leadership  did  the  Greeks  fail  to  furnish?  Could 
leadership  in  Plato's  age  be  confined  to  a  single  city-state  ?  What  did 
practical  men  like  Isocrates  and  Xenophon  advise  ? 

Section'  34.  How  did  Thebes  gain  the  leadership  of  Greece? 
Who  was  her  great  commander?  What  was  his  clever  military  de- 
vice ?  W^hat  was  the  cause  of  his  successes  ?  Did  the  western  Greeks 
in  Italy  and  Sicily  succeed  in  furnishing  leadership  for  all  the  Greeks 
and  combining  them  into  one  nation  ?  W^hat  was  the  final  result  of 
the  long  struggle  among  the  Greek  states  ? 


CHAPTER  IX 
ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT  AND  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE 

Sfxtiox  35.  The  Rise  of  IVIacedoxia 

The  common  danger  which  threatened  all  Greek  states  alike,  Persistence 
the  power  of  Persia,  had  failed  to  bring  together  the  Greek  among"he" 
cities  and  weld  them  into  a  nation,  or  even  to  unite  them  in  a   Greeks; 

necessity  of 

federation  of  any  permanence.     It  was  evident  that  the  per-   political 

,        ,  Z    .  ^  ,       .  .  ...         leadership 

sistent  local  patriotism  01  such  city-states,  in  some  respects  like  from  abroad 
the  "sectionalism^"  which  brought  on  the  great  Civil  ^^'ar  in  the 
United  States,  would  not  submit  to  the  leadership  of  any  one 
of  their  number.  Exhausted  by  ceaseless  wars  among  them- 
selves, their  union  was  now  to  be  accomplished  by  a  people 
whom  the  Greeks  loftily  classified  among  the  "  barbarians." 

On  the  northern  frontiers  in  the  mountains  of  the  Balkan   The  unculti- 
Peninsula  Greek  civilization  gradually  faded  and  disappeared,   of  fhe^B^alkan 
merging  into   the   barbarism  which   had   descended   from   the   Peninsula 
Europe  of  the  Stone  Age.    These  backward  northerners,  such  as 
the  Thracians,  spoke  Indo-European  tongues  akin  to  Greek,  but 
their  Greek  kindred  of  the  south  could  not  understand  them. 
Nevertheless  a  veneer  of  Greek  civilization  began  here  and  there 
to  mask  somewhat  the  otherwise  rough  and  uncultivated  life  of 
the  peasant  population  of  Macedonia.    The  Macedonian  kings 
began  to  cultivate  Greek  literature  and  art.     The  mother  of 
Philip  of  Macedon  was  grateful  that  she  had  been    able    to 
leam  to  write  in  her  old  age. 

Philip  himself  had  enjoyed  a  Greek  education,  but  when  he   Philip  of 
gained  the  power  over  Macedonia  in  360  B.C.  he  had  by  no  his  policy  of 
means  completely  suppressed  the  barbarous  instincts  still  throb-  expansion 
bing  in  his  blood.    Many  an  unbridled  orgy  and  drunken  revel 

215 


2l6 


Outlines  of  Eiiropeaji  History 


betrayed  his  northern  origin.  But  as  a  hostage  at  Thebes  he 
had  learned  to  manipulate  an  army  under  the  eye  of  no  less  a 
master  than  Epaminondas,  the  conqueror  of  the  Spartans,  and 
his  keen  intelligence  made  him  both  a  skillful  commander  and  an 
able  statesman.  He  completely  transformed  the  Macedonians, 
organized  them  chiefly  on  Greek  methods  into  an  unconquer- 
able army,  and  steadily  expanded  the  territory  of  his  kingdom 

eastward  and  northward  until  it 
reached  the  Danube  and  the 
Hellespont, 

As  he  absorbed  the  Greek  cit- 
ies of  the  northern  ^gean,  he  of 
course  collided  with  the  interests 
of  the  southern  Greek  states  like 
Athens,  where  Demosthenes  (Fig, 
98)  was  now  delivering  those  fa- 
mous orations  against  Philip  and 
the  Macedonian  policy,  which  have 
become  traditional  among  us  as 
"  Philippics."  ^  After  a  long  series 
of  hostilities  Philip  defeated  the 
Greek  forces  in  a  final  battle  at 
Chaeronea  (346  B.C.),  and  firmly 
established  his  position  as  head  of 
a  league  of  all  the  Greek  states  except  Sparta,  which  still  held 
out  against  him.  He  had  begun  operations  in  Asia  Minor  for 
the  freedom  of  the  Greek  cities  there,  when  ten  years  after  the 
battle  of  Chaeronea  he  was  stabbed  by  conspirators  during  the 
revelries  at  the  wedding  of  his  daughter. 

The  power  passed  into  the  hands  of  his  son  Alexander,  a 
youth  of  only  twenty  years.    Fortunately  Philip  also  left  behind 

1  At  the  same  time  there  was  a  sentiment  in  Greece,  even  ir.  Athens,  which 
favored  Philip's  imperial  plans,  and  saw  in  him  the  uniter  and  savior  of  Greece. 
This  sentiment  found  a  voice  in  Isocrates,  the  Athenian  pamphleteer,  now  an 
aged  man,  who  had  so  long  chided  the  Greeks  for  lack  of  unity  in  opposing 
Persia  (see  p.  211). 


Fig.  98.   Portrait  Bust 
OF  Demosthenes 


Alexander  the  Great  and  the  Hellenistie  Age     217 

him  in  the  Macedonians  of  his  court  a  group  of  remarkable   The  suc- 
men,   of  imperial  abilities  such  as  no  century  of  the  ancient   phfifp^of^ 
world  had   ever  yet   seen.     They  were  devoted  to   the   royal   Macedon 
house,  and  Alexander's  early  successes  were  in  no  small  measure 
due  to  them.    But  their  very  devotion,  ability,  and  firmness  of 
character,  as  we  shall  see,  later  brought  the  young  king  into  a 
personal  conflict  which  contained  all  the  elements  of  a  tremen- 
dous tragedy  (see  p.  228). 


Section  36.    Campaigns  of  Alexander  the  Great 


Education 


When  Alexander  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  his  father  had 
called  to  the  Macedonian  court  the  great  philosopher  Aristotle,  of  AtandlT 
a  former  pupil  of  Plato,  to  be  the  teacher  of  the  young  prince.  ^^^  Gx&^t 
Aristotle,  the  most  gifted  successor  of  Socrates  and  Plato,  was 
treating  eveiy  possible  subject  in  learned  essays  and  arranging 
the  known  facts  and  discoveries  in  all  branches  of  science  in  a 
great  series  of  treatises,  which  became  the  world's  Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica  for  nearly  two  thousand  years.  Under  the  in- 
struction of  this  greatest  of  the  living  Greek  thinkers,  the  lad 
learned  to  know  and  love  the  masterpieces  of  Greek  literature, 
especially  the  Homeric  songs.  The  deeds  of  the  ancient  heroes 
touched  and  kindled  his  youthful  imagination  and  lent  an  heroic 
tinge  to  his  whole  character,  while,  as  he  grew  and  his  mind 
ripened,  his  whole  personality  was  imbued  with  the  splendor  of 
Greek  genius  and  Hellenic  culture.  He  came  to  believe  abso- 
lutely in  its  power  and  superiority,  and  in  its  inevitable  success 
as  a  civilizing  influence. 

When  Thebes  revolted  against  Macedonia  for  the  second  time   Alexander's 
after  Philip's  death,  Alexander,  knowing  that  he  must  take  up   ateadramadc 


the  struggle  with  Persia,  realized  that  it  would  not  be  safe  for 


impression  of 
his  mission 

him  to  march  into  Asia  without  giving  the  Greek  states  a  lesson   as  champion 
which  they  would  not  forget.    He  therefore  captured  and  com- 
pletely destroyed  the  ancient  city  of  Thebes,  sparing  only  the 
house  of  the  great  poet  Pindar.    All  Greece  was  thus  taught  to 


2l8  Outlines  of  European  History 

fear  and  respect  his  power,  but  learned  at  the  same  time  to  recog- 
nize his  reverence  for  Greek  genius.  Alexander  already  dreamed 
of  world-wide  conquests,  and  the  Asiatic  campaign  which  he 
now  planned  was  to  vindicate  his  position  as  the  champion  of 
Hellas  against  Asia. 

He  thought  to  lead  the  united  Greeks  against  the  Persian 

lord  of  Asia,  as  the  Hellenes  had  once  made  common  cause 

against  Asiatic  Troy.    Leading  his  army  of  Macedonians  and 

allied  Greeks  into  Asia  Minor,  he  therefore  stopped  at  Troy  and 

camped  upon  the  plain  (Fig.  58  and  map,  p.  146)  where  the 

Greek  heroes  of  the  Homeric  songs  had  once  fought.    Here  he 

w^orshiped  in  the  temple  of  Athena,  and  prayed  for  the  success 

of  his  cause  against  Persia.    He  thus  contrived  to  throw  around 

himself  the  heroic  atmosphere  of  the  Trojan  War,  till  all  Hellas 

beheld  the  dauntless  figure  of  the  Macedonian  youth,  as  it  were, 

against  the  background  of  that  glorious  age  which  in  their  belief 

had  so  long  ago  united  Greek  arms  against  Asia  (p.  133). 

Battle  of  the         The  Persian  satraps,  with  what  troops  they  could  gather, 

(^34"b.cO        endeavored   to   bar   his   eastward    progress,   but  at  the   river 

^"^,  ^°"^,"^^^    Granicus  he  had  no  difficultv  in   scattering  their  forces  in  a 

of  Asia  Minor  ■'  ° 

decisive  action.  Following  the  Macedonian  custom  the  young 
king,  then  but  twenty-two  years  of  age,  led  his  troops  into  the 
thick  of  the  fray  and  exposed  his  royal  person  without  hesi- 
tation. But  for  the  timely  support  of  Clitus,  the  brother  of  his 
childhood  nurse,  who  bravely  pushed  in  before  him  at  a  critical 
moment,  the  impetuous  young  king  would  have  lost  his  life  in 
the  action  on  the  Granicus.  Marching  southward  he  took  the 
Greek  cities  one  by  one,  and  freed  all  \yestem  Asia  Minor 
forever  from  the  Persian  yoke. 
Alexander's  Meantime  a  huge  Persian  fleet  dominated  the  Mediterranean, 

thro^il^h  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  young  Macedonian,  litde  more 

Asia  Minor  \}ci2X\  a  boy  in  years,  began  to  display  his  master)^  of  a  military 
situation  which  demanded  the  completest  understanding  of  the 
art  of  war.  It  was  a  vast  stage  on  which  he  was  to  dictate 
the  course  of  the  stirring  world  drama  for  the  next  ten  years 


of  Issus 

i^r^  B.C.) 


Alexander  the  Great  and  the  Hellenistic  Age     219 

(333-323  B.C.).  Believing  that  his  destruction  of  Thebes  had  fur- 
nished the  Greeks  such  an  evidence  of  the  terrible  consequences 
of  revolt  that  not  even  a  Persian  fleet  in  the  yEgean  could  arouse 
Hellas  to  hostility  against  him  in  his  absence,  Alexander  pushed 
boldly  eastward  and  rounded  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Medi- 
terranean. Here  was  spread  out  before  him  the  vast  Asiatic 
world  of  forty  million  souls  where  the  family  of  the  Great  King 
had  been  supreme  for  two  hundred  years. 

At  this  important  point,  by  the  Gulf  of  Issus,  Alexander  met  Defeat  of 
the  main  army  of  Persia,  under  the  personal  command  of  the  at  the  battle 
Great  King,  Darius  HI,  the  last  of  the  line.  In  a  fierce  battle  the 
irresistible  onset  of  Alexander  and  his  Macedonians  (Fig.  99), 
combined  with  the  skillful  disposition  of  his  troops,  swept  the 
Asiatics  from  the  field,  and  the  disorderly  retreat  of  Darius  never 
stopped  until  it  had  crossed  the  Euphrates.  The  Great  King 
then  sent  a  letter  to  Alexander  desiring  terms  of  peace  and  offer- 
ing to  accept  the  Euphrates  as  a  boundary  between  them,  all 
Asia  west  of  that  river  to  be  handed  over  to  the  Macedonians. 

It  is  a  dramatic  picture,  the  figure  of  the  young  king,  still  The  situation 
only  twenty-three  years  old,  standing  with  this  letter  in  his  hand,   ^nd  Alexan- 
As  he  ponders  it  he  is  surrounded  by  a  group  of  the  ablest  ^^'"'^  friends 
Macedonian  youth,   who   have  grown  up  around  him  as  his 
closest   friends ;    but  likewise  by  old   and   trusted   counselors 
upon  whom  his  father  before  him  had  leaned.    The  hazards  of 
battle  and  of  march,  and  the  daily  associations  of  camp  and 
bivouac,  have  wTOught  the  closest  bonds  of  love  and  friend- 
ship and  intimate  influence  between  these  loyal  Macedonians 
and  their  ardent  young  king. 

As  he  considers  the  letter  of  Darius  therefore,  his  father's 
old  general  Parmenio,  who  has  commanded  the  Macedonian  left 
wing  in  the  battle  just  won,  proffers  him  serious  counsel.  We 
can  almost  see  the  old  man  leaning  familiarly  over  the  shoulder 
of  this  imperious  boy  of  twenty-three  and  pointing  out  across  the 
Mediterranean,  as  he  bids  Alexander  remember  the  Persian  fleet 
operating  there  in  his  rear,  and  likely  to  stir  up  revolt  against  him 


220 


Oiitlifies  of  El  I  rope  an  History 


The  decision 
after  Issus, 
and  Alex- 
anders fric- 
tion with 
his  friends 


in  Greece.  He  says  too  that  with  1  )arius  beliind  the  Euphrates, 
as  proposed  in  the  letter,  Persia  will  be  at  a  safe  distance  from 
Europe  and  the  Greek  world.  The  campaign  against  the  Great 
King,  he  urges,  has  secured  all  that  could  reasonably  be  ex- 
pected. Undoubtedly  he  adds  that  Philip  himself,  the  young 
king's  father,  had  at  the  utmost  no  further  plans  against  Persia 
than  those  already  successfully  carried  out.  There  is  nothing 
to  do,  says  Parmenio,  but  to  accept  the  terms  offered  by  the 
Great  King. 

In  this  critical  decision  lay  the  parting  of  the  ways.  Before 
the  kindling  eyes  of  the  young  Alexander  there  rose  a  vision  of 
world-empire  dominated  by  Greek  civilization  —  a  vision  to 
which  the  duller  eyes  about  him  were  entirely  closed.  He 
waved  aside  his  father's  old  counselors  and  decided  to  press  on 
in  pursuit  of  the  Persian  king.  In  this  far-reaching  decision 
he  disclosed  at  once  the  powerful  personality  which  represented 
a  new  age.     Thus  arose  the  conflict  which  never  ends  —  the 

*  The  artist  who  designed  this  great  work  has  selected  the  supreme 
moment  when  the  Persians  (at  the  right)  are  endeavoring  to  rescue 
their  king  from  the  onset  of  the  Macedonians  (at  the  left).  Alexan- 
der, the  bareheaded  figure  on  horseback  at  the  left,  charges  furiously 
against  the  Persian  king  (Darius  III),  who  stands  in  his  chariot  (at 
the  right).  The  Macedonian  attack  is  so  impetuous  that  the  Persian 
king's  life  is  endangered.  A  Persian  noble  dismounts  and  offers  his 
riderless  horse,  that  the  king  may  quickly  mount  and  escape.  De- 
voted Persian  nobles  heroically  ride  in  between  their  king  and  the 
Macedonian  onset,  to  give  Darius  an  opportunity  to  mount.  But 
Alexander's  spear  has  passed  entirely  through  the  body  of  one  of  these 
Persian  nobles,  who  has  thus  given  his  life  for  his  king.  Darius  throws 
out  his  hand  in  grief  and  horror  at  the  awful  death  of  his  noble  friend. 
The  driver  of  the  royal  chariot  (behind  the  king)  lashes  his  three 
horses,  endeavoring  to  carry  Darius  from  the  field  in  flight  (p.  219). 
This  magnificent  battle  scene  is  put  together  from  bits  of  colored 
glass  (mosaic)  forming  a  floor  pavement,  discovered  in  183 1  at  the 
Roman  town  of  Pompeii  (Fig.  128).  It  has  been  injured  in  places, 
especially  at  the  left,  where  parts  of  the  figures  of  Alexander  and  hfs 
horse  have  disappeared.  It  is  a  Roman  copy  of  an  older  Hellenistic 
work,  probably  a  painting  done  at  Alexandria  (p.  233).  It  is  one  of  the 
greatest  scenes  of  heroism  in  battle  ever  painted,  and  illustrates  the 
splendor  of  Hellenistic  art. 


^^^p^ 


Outlijics  of  RitropCLDi  History 


Conquest  of 
Phoenicia 
and  Egypt ; 
dispersion  of 
the  Persian 
fleet ;  march 
to  the  Tigris 


Battle  of 
Arbela 
il^-^  B.C.) 


Death  of 
Darius  III 
(330  B.C.)  ; 
Alexander 
lord  of  the 
ancient  East 


conflict  between  the  new  age  and  the  old.  Never  has  it  been 
more  dramatically  staged  than  as  we  find  it  liere  in  the  daily 
growing  friction  between  Alexander  and  that  group  of  devoted, 
if  less  gifted,  Macedonians  who  were  now  drawn  by  him  into 
the  labors  of  Heracles  — -  the  conquest  of  the  world. 

The  danger  from  the  Persian  fleet  was  now  carefully  and 
deliberately  met  by  a  march  southward  along  the  eastern  end 
of  the  Mediterranean.  All  the  Phoenician  seaports  on  the  way 
were  captured,  and  disorganized  Egypt  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the 
Macedonian  arms.  The  Persian  fleet,  thus  deprived  of  all  its 
home  harbors  and  cut  off  from  its  home  government,  soon 
scattered  and  disappeared.  Having  freed  himself  in  this  way 
from  the  danger  of  an  enemy  in  his  rear,  Alexander  then  re- 
turned from  Egypt  to  Asia,  crossed  the  Euphrates,  and  marched 
to  the  Tigris,  where,  near  Arbela,  the  Great  King  had  gathered 
his  forces  for  a  last  stand. 

Parmenio  advised  a  surprise  by  night  attack,  but  Alexander 
characteristically  disregarded  the  old  general's  suggestions,  and 
in  a  battle  planned  by  himself  crushed  the  Persian  army  and 
forced  the  Great  King  into  ignominious  flight.  In  a  few  days 
Alexander  was  established  in  the  winter  palace  of  Persia,  in 
Babylon.  As  Darius  fled  into  the  eastern  mountains  he  was 
stabbed  by  his  own  treacherous  attendants  (330  B.C.).  Alex- 
ander rode  up  with  a  few  of  his  officers  in  time  to  look  upon 
the  body  of  the  last  of  the  Persian  emperors,  the  lord  of  Asia, 
whose  vast  realm  had  now  passed  into  his  hands.  He  punished 
the  murderers  and  sent  the  body  with  all  respect  to  the  fallen 
ruler's  mother  and  sister,  to  whom  he  had  extended  protec- 
tion and  hospitality.  Thus  at  last  both  the  valley  of  the  Nile 
and  the  "fertile  crescent"  (see  p.  56),  the  two  earliest  homes 
of  those  hoary  oriental  civilizations,  whose  long  careers  we 
have  already  sketched  (see  Chapters  II-HI),  were  now  in  the 
hands  of  a  European  power  and  under  the  control  of  a  newer 
and  higher  civilization.  Only  five  years  had  passed  since  the 
young  Macedonian  had  entered  Asia. 


Alexander  the  Great  a)id  the  Hellenistic  Age     223 

Although  the  Macedonians  had  nothing  more  to  fear  from   Alexander 
the  Persian  arms,  there  still  remained  much  for  Alexander  to   p^e^rsJan^oyal 
do  in  order  to  establish  his  empire  in  Asia.    On  he  marched   *^'^^^^ 
through  the  original  little  kingdom  of  the  Persian  kings,  whence 
Cyrus,  the  founder  of  the  Persian  Empire,  had  victoriously  issued 
over  two  hundred  years  before  (see  pp.  96-97).    He  stopped  at 
Susa,  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  royal  Persian  residences, 
and  then  passed  on  to  Persepolis,  where  he  gave  a  dramatic 
exhibition  of  his  supremacy  in  Asia  by  setting  fire  to  the  Persian 
palace  (Fig.  52)  with  his  own  hand,  as  the  Persians  had  once 
done  to  Miletus  and  to  the  temples  on  the  Athenian  Acropolis. 
It  was  but  a  symbolical  act,  and  Alexander  ordered  the  flames 
extinguished  before  serious  damage  was  done. 

After  touching  Ecbatana  in  the  north,  and  leaving  behind  the   Alexander's 
trusted  Parmenio  in  charge  of  the  enormous  treasure  of  gold   in  the  Far 
and  silver,  accumulated  for  generations  by  the  Persian  kings,   ^/^g^^^\°~ 
Alexander  again  moved  eastward.    In  the  course  of  the  next 
five  years,  while  the  Greek  world  looked  on  in  amazement,  the 
young  Macedonian  seemed  to  disappear  in  the  mists  on  the 
far-off  fringes  of  the  known  world.    He  marched  his  army  in 
one  vast  loop  after  another  through  the  heart  of  the  Iranian 
plateau  (see  map,  p.  80),  northward  across  the  Oxus  and  the 
Jaxartes  rivers,  southward  across  the  Indus  and  the  frontiers 
of  India,  into  the  valley  of  the  Ganges,  where  at  last  the  mur- 
murs of  his  intrepid  army  forced  him  to  turn  back. 

He  descended  the  Indus,  and  even  sailed  the  waters  of  the  Alexander 
Indian  Ocean.  Then  he  began  his  westward  march  again  along  ^^  Babylon 
the  shores  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  accompanied  by  a  fleet  which    (323  ^.c.) ; 

'  ^  -^  some  results 

he  had  built  on  the  Indus.    The  return  march  through  desert   of  his  eastern 

11-  1-11  •   •  1  campaigns 

wastes  cost  many  lives  as  the  thirsty  and  lU-provisioned  troops 
dropped  by  the  way.  Over  seven  years  after  he  had  left  the 
great  city  of  Babylon,  Alexander  entered  it  again.  He  had  been 
eleven  years  in  Asia,  and  he  had  carried  Greek  civilization  into 
the  very  heart  of  the  continent.  At  important  points  along  his 
line  of  march  he  had  founded  Greek  cities  bearing  his  name, 


■224 


Outlines  of  linropccDi  History 


and  had  set  up  kingdoms  which  were  to  be  centers  of  Greek 
influence  on  the  frontiers  of  India.  From  such  centers  Greek 
art  entered  India,  to  become  the  source  of  the  art  which  still 
survives  there  ;  and  the  Greek  works  of  art  from  Alexander's 
communities  in  these  remote  regions  of  the  east  penetrated  even 
to  China,  to  contribute  to  the  later  art  of  China  and  Japan. 
Never  before  had  East  and  West  so  interpenetrated  as  in  these 
amazing  marches  and  campaigns  of  Alexander. 


Alexander's 

scientific 

enterprises 


His  endeavor 
to  merge 
European 
and  Asiatic 
civilization 


Section  37.    International  Policy  of  Alexander  : 
ITS  Personal  Consequences 

During  all  these  unparalleled  achievements  the  mind  of  this 
young  Heracles  never  ceased  to  busy  itself  with  a  thousand 
problems  on  every  side.  He  dispatched  an  exploring  expedition 
up  the  Nile  to  ascertain  the  causes  of  the  annual  overflow  of 
the  river,  and  another  to  the  shores  of  the  Caspian  Sea  to  build 
a  fleet  and  circumnavigate  that  sea,  the  northern  end  of  which 
was  still  unknown.  He  brought  a  number  of  scientific  men  with 
him  from  Greece,  and  with  their  aid  he  sent  hundreds  of  natural- 
history  specimens  home  to  Greece  to  his  old  teacher  Aristotle, 
then  teaching  in  Athens. 

Meantime  he  applied  himself  with  diligence  to  the  organiza- 
tion and  administration  of  his  vast  conquests.  Such  problems 
must  have  kept  him  tediously  bending  over  many  a  huge  pile 
of  state  papers,  or  dictating  his  great  plans  to  his  secretaries 
and  officers.  He  believed  implicitly  in  the  power  and  superiority 
of  Greek  culture.  He  was  determined  to  Hellenize  the  world 
and  to  merge  Asia  with  Europe  by  transplanting  colonies  of 
Greeks  and  Macedonians.  In  his  army,  Macedonian,  Greek,  and 
Asiatic  stood  side  by  side.  He  himself  felt  that  he  could  not 
rule  the  world  as  a  Macedonian,  but  must  make  concessions  to 
the  Persian  world  (Plate  V,  p.  224).  He  married  Roxana,  an 
Asiatic  princess,  and  at  a  gorgeous  wedding  festival  he  obliged 
his  officers  and  friends  also  to  marry  the  daughters  of  Asiatic 


Alexander  the  Great  and  the  Hellenistic  Age     225 

nobles.  Thousands  of  Macedonians  in  the  army  followed  the 
example  of  their  royal  lord  and  took  Asiatic  wives.  He  appointed 
Persians  to  high  offices  and  set  them  over  provinces  as  satraps. 
He  even  adopted  Persian  raiment  in  part. 

Amid  all  this  he  carefully  worked  out  a  complete  plan  of  Alexander 
campaign  for  the  conquest  of  the  western  Mediterranean,  in-  f^?the^on-^ 
cludins:  instructions  for  the  building  of  a  fleet  of  a  thousand  ^"^^'^  *^^  !?^  ■, 

*=•  °  western  Med- 

battleships  with  which  to  subdue  Italy,  Sicily,  and  Carthage,  and  iterranean 
a  vast  roadway  along  the  northern  coast  of  Africa,  to  be  built 
at  an  appalling  expense  and  to  furnish  a  highway  for  his  army 
from  Egypt  to  Carthage  and  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  (Gibraltar). 
It  is  here  that  Alexander's  statesmanship  may  be  criticized.  If 
he  had  spent  less  time  on  the  remote  frontiers  in  the  far  east, 
and  gone  earlier  to  the  west,  he  would  have  saved  himself  and 
Hellas  incalculable  losses. 

What  was  to  be  his  own  position  in  this  colossal  world-state   Deification 
of  which  he  dreamed  ?   That  question  he  had  settled  seven  years   °nd  itTlogical 
before  in  Egypt.    When  he  entered  Asia  he  was  king  of  Mace-   necessity 
donia.  duke  of  Thessaly,  and  general  and  head  of  a  league  or 
federation  of  the  Greek  states,  finally  including   also   Sparta, 
which  had  defied  his  father.    Many  a  great  Greek  had  come  to 
be  recognized  as  a  god,  and  there  was  in  Greek  belief  no  sharp 
line  dividing  gods  from  men.    Moreover,  after  a  long  struggle, 
the  Greeks  had  come  to  believe  that  their  gods  had  all  once 
been  human  beings  of  power  and  influence  during  their  lives. 
The  will  of  a  god,  in  so  far  as  a  Greek  might  believe  in  him  at  # 

all,  was  still  a  thing  to  which  he  bowed  without  question  and 
with  no  feeling  that  he  was  being  subjected  to  tyranny.  Alex- 
ander found  in  this  attitude  of  the  Greek  mind  the  solution  of 
the  question  of  his  own  position.  He  would  have  himself  lifted 
to  the  realm  of  the  gods,  where  he  might  impose  his  will  upon 
the  Greek  cities  without  offense.  This  solution  was  the  more 
easy  because  it  had  for  ages  been  customary  to  regard  the  king 
as  divine  in  Egypt,  where  he  was  a  son  of  the  sun-god,  and  it  was 
a  common  idea  in  the  Orient. 

I 


226 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Alexander's 
visit  to  Siwa 
—  the  desert 
shrine  of 
Amon 


In  Egypt  therefore  he  had  deliberately  taken  the  time,  while 
a  still  unconquered  Persian  army  was  awaiting  him  in  Asia,  to 
march  with  a  small  following  far  out  into  the  Sahara  Desert  to 
the  Oasis  of  Siwa  (see  map,  p.  80,  and  Fig.  100),  where  there  was 
a  shrine  of  the  Egyptian  god  Amon.    Amon  had  been  identified 


Fig.  100.   Oasis  of  Siwa  in  the  Sahara 

In  this  oasis  was  the  famous  temple  of  the  Egyptian  god  Amon  (or 
Ammon),  who  delivered  oracles  greatly  prized  by  the  Greeks  (p.  237). 
Alexander  marched  hither  from  the  coast,  a  distance  of  some  two  hun- 
dred miles,  and  thence  back  to  the  Nile  at  Memphis,  some  three  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  (see  map,  p.  80).  A  modern  caravan  requires  twenty-one 
days  to  go  from  the  Nile  to  this  oasis.  Such  an  oasis  is  a  deep  depression 
in  the  desert  plateau;  the  level  of  the  plateau  is  seen  at  the  tops  of  the 
cliffs  on  the  right.    Its  fertility  is  due  to  many  springs  and  flowing  wells 

with  Zeus,  and  the  oracles  of  Zeus-Amon  at  Siwa  enjoyed  the 
respect  of  the  whole  Greek  world.  Here  in  the  vast  solitude 
Alexander  entered  the  holy  place  alone.  No  one  knew  what 
took  place  there ;  but  when  he  issued  again  he  was  greeted  by 
the  high  priest  of  the  temple  as  the  son  of  Zeus.  Alexander 
took  good  care  that  all  Greece  should  hear  of  this  remarkable 
occurrence,  but  the  Hellenes  had  to  wait  some  years  before  they 
learned  what  it  all  meant. 


Alexander  the  Great  and  the  Hellenistic  Age     22/ 

Four  years  later  the  young  king  found  that  this  divinity  which   Alexander 
he  claimed  lacked  outward  and  visible  manifestations.    There   deification  by 
must  go  with  it  some  outward  observances  which  would  vividlv   ^'^^  ^"^^f^. 

o    -  -      cities  of  the 

suggest  his  character  as  a  god  to  the  minds  of  the  world  which   dissolved 

.  league 

he  ruled.  He  adopted  oriental  usages,  among  which  was  the 
demand  that  all  who  approached  him  on  official  occasions  should 
bow  down  to  the  earth  and  kiss  his  feet.  He  also  sent  formal 
notification  to  all  the  Greek  cities  that  the  league  of  which 
he  had  been  head  was  dissolved,  that  he  was  henceforth  to 
be  officially  numbered  among  the  gods  of  each  city,  and  that 
as  such  he  was  to  receive  the  state  offerings  which  each  city 
presented. 

Thus  w^ere  introduced  into  Europe  absolute  monarchy  and   Absolute 
the  divine  right  of  kings.    Indeed,  through  Alexander  there  was   and  divine 
transferred  to  Europe  much  of  the  spirit  of  that  Orient  which   "^^'^  ^^  ^'"^^ 
had  been  repulsed  at  Marathon  and  Salamis.    But  these  meas- 
ures of  Alexander  were  not  the  efforts  of  a  weak  mind  to  gratify 
a  vanity  so  drunk  with  power  that  it  could  be  satisfied  only 
with  superhuman  honors.    They  were  carefully  devised  political 
measures  dictated  by  state  policy,  and  systematically  developed 
step  by  step  for  years. 

This  superhuman  station,   investing  with  divine  power  the   Personal 
throne  of  the  world-king  Alexander,  was  gained  at  tragic  cost  to   sufferedTy^^ 
Alexander  the  Macedonian  youth  and  to  the  group  of  friends   Alexander  as 

^  &         r  a  result  of  his 

and  followers  about  him  (p.  219).    Beneath  the  Persian  robes   deification 

r     ,        r.  1*1111  1  r  ^"d  interna- 

of  the  State-god  Alexander  beat  the  warm  heart  o±  a  young  tional  policy 
Macedonian.  He  had  lifted  himself  to  an  exalted  and  lonely 
eminence  whither  those  devoted  friends  who  had  followed  him 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth  could  follow  him  no  longer.  Neither 
could  they  comprehend  the  necessity  for  measures  which  thus 
strained  or  snapped  entirely  those  bonds  of  friendship  which 
linked  together  comrades  in  arms.  And  then  there  were  the 
Persian  intruders  treated  like  the  equals  of  his  personal  friends 
(Plate  V,  p.  224),  or  even  placed  over  them!  The  tragic 
consequences  of  such  a  situation  were  inevitable. 


228 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Execution 
of  Philotas, 
Parmenio, 
and  their 
friends 


Alexander 
slays  his 
friend  Clitus 


Execution  of 
Callisthenes 


Early  in  those  tremendous  marches  eastward,  after  Darius's 
death,  Philotas,  son  of  Parmenio,  had  learned  of  a  conspiracy 
against  Alexander's  life,  but  his  bitterness  and  estrangement 
were  such  that  he  failed  to  report  his  guilty  knowledge  to  the 
king.  The  conspirators  were  all  given  a  fair  and  legal  trial,  and 
Alexander  himself  suffered  the  bitterness  of  seeing  a  whole 
group  of  his  former  friends  and  companions,  including  Philotas, 
condemned  and  executed  in  the  presence  of  the  army.  I'he 
trusted  Parmenio,  father  of  Philotas,  still  guarding  the  Persian 
treasure  at  Ecbatana,  was  also  implicated,  and  a  messenger  was 
sent  back  with  orders  for  the  old  general's  immediate  execution. 
This  was  but  the  beginning  of  the  ordeal  through  which  the 
man  Alexander  was  to  pass,  in  order  that  the  world-king  Alex- 
ander might  mount  the  throne  of  a  god. 

Clitus  also,  who  had  saved  his  life  at  Granicus,  was  filled  with 
grief  and  indignation  at  Alexander's  political  course.  At  a  royal 
feast,  where  these  matters  intruded  upon  the  conversation,  Clitus 
was  guilty  of  unguarded  criticisms  of  his  lord  and  then,  entirely 
losing  his  self-mastery,  he  finally  heaped  such  unbridled  re- 
proaches upon  the  king  that  Alexander,  rising  in  uncontrollable 
rage,  seized  a  spear  from  a  guard  and  thrust  it  through  the 
bosom  of  the  man  to  whom  he  owed  his  life.  As  we  see  him 
thereupon  sitting  for  three  days  in  his  tent,  speechless  with  grief 
and  remorse,  refusing  all  food,  and  prevented  only  by  his  officers 
from  taking  his  own  life,  w^e  gather  some  slight  impression  of 
the  terrible  personal  cost  of  Alexander's  state  policy. 

Similarly  the  demand  that  all  should  prostrate  themselves  and 
kiss  his  feet  on  entering  his  presence  cost  him  the  friendship  of 
the  historian  Callisthenes.  For,  not  long  after,  this  friend  was 
likewise  found  criminally  guilty  toward  the  king  in  connection 
with  a  conspiracy  of  the  noble  Macedonian  pages  who  ser\'ed 
Alexander-  Trusted  and  admired  as  he  had  been  by  Alexander, 
Callisthenes  too  lost  his  life.  He  w^as  a  nephew  of  the  king's 
old  teacher,  Aristotle,  and  thus  the  friendship  between  master 
and  royal  pupil  was  transformed  into  bitter  enmity. 


Alexander  the  Great  and  the  Hellenistic  Age     229 

On  his  return  to  Babylon,  Alexander  was  overcome  with  grief  Death  of 
at  the  loss  of  his  dearest  friend  Hephaestion,  who  had  just  died.  i^^^,c^ 
He  arranged  for  his  dead  friend  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
funerals  ever  celebrated.  Then,  as  he  was  preparing  for  a  cam- 
paign to  subjugate  the  Arabian  peninsula  and  leave  him  free 
to  carry  out  his  great  plans  for  the  conquest  of  the  western 
Mediterranean,  Alexander  himself  fell  sick,  and  after  a  few- 
days  died  (323  B.C.).  He  was  thirty-three  years  of  age  and 
had  reigned  thirteen  years. 


Section  38,  The  Heirs  of  Alexander's  Empire 

Alexander  has  been  well  termed  "the  Great."    Few  men  of   Conse- 
genius  if  any,  and  certainly  none  in  so  brief  a  career  as  his,   Alexander's 
have  left  so  indelible  a  mark  upon  the  course  of  human  affairs.   ^^^^^ 
His  death  in  the  midst  of  his  colossal  designs  was  a  fearful  calam- 
ity, for  it  made  impossible  forever  the  unification  of  Hellas  and 
of  the  world  by  the  power  of  that  gifted  race  which  was  now 
civilizing  the  world.    Fabulous  tales  of  Alexander's  heroic  career 
grew  up  on  every  hand,  as  men  looked  back  upon  the  wondrous 
life  of  the  world-hero.     But  such  visions  could  not  bring  back 
the  man  himself,  and  there  was  none  to  take  his  place.    Of  his   Alexander's 
line  there  remained  in  Macedonia  a  demented  half  brother  and,   appears 
ere  long,  the  son  of  Roxana,  born  in  Asia  after  Alexander's  death. 
Conflicts  among  the  leaders  at  home  swept  away  all  ^Alexander's 
family,  even  including  his  mother. 

His  generals  in  Babylonia  found  the  plans  of  his  great  west-  The  suc- 

,    .  ,  .  .  J    cessors  of 

ern  campaign  lymg  among  his  papers,  but  no  man  possessed  Alexander; 
the  genius  or  the  will  to  carry  them  out,  nor  could  there  be  any  ^^^"'  ^^^^^ 
unity  among  leaders  feeling  no  authority  above  them  which  they 
would  long  recognize.  These  able  Macedonian  commanders 
were  soon  involved  among  themselves  in  a  long  struggle,  which 
slumbered  only  to  break  out  anew.  After  a  generation  of  con- 
flict we  find  Alexander's  empire  in  three  parts,  corresponding 
to  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  with  one  of  his  generals  at  the 


230 


Outlines  of  European  History 


head  of  each.  In  FAirope,  Macedonia  is  in  the  hands  of  Antig- 
onus,  who  endeavors  to  maintain  control  of  ( Greece;  in  Asia 
we  find  the  territory  of  the  former  Persian  Empire  under  the 
rule  of  Seleucus ;  while  in  Africa,  Eg)'pt,  a  clearly  demarked. 
region  by  itself,  is  held  by  Ptolemy. 

Ptolemies  in  But  the  boundaries  between  these  states  were  not  constant. 
^^^  Ptolemy  found  it  impossible  to  maintain  his  power  with  native 

Egyptian  troops.  He  was  obliged  constantly  to  draw  upon 
Greece.  He  made  his  capital  Alexandria  the  greatest  port  on 
the  Mediterranean.  With  statesmanlike  judgment  he  built  up 
a  fleet  which  gave  him  the  mastery  of  the  Mediterranean,  with 
the  control  of  Cyprus  and  the  Phoenician  ports,  the  yEgean 
and  parts  of  southern  Greece,  and  at  times  also  of  various 
points  along  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor.  Indeed,  for  a  century 
(roughly  the  third  century  B.C.)  the  eastern  Mediterranean 
was  an  Egyptian  sea.  To  make  his  frontier  toward  Asia  safer 
against  his  Asiatic  rival  he  finally  took  possession  of  Palestine 
and  southern  Syria.  Such  an  aggressive  policy  maintained  the 
power  of  the  Ptolemies  for  over  a  hundred  years.  But  after 
200  B.C.  they  allowed  their  navy  to  decay  and  their  army  to 
decline.    Then  Egypt  became  the  cat's-paw  of  Rome. 

Seleucids  In  Asia  the  Seleucids^  selected  the  northeast  comer  of  the 

Mediterranean  as  their  home,  and  here  they  endeavored  to  build 
up  another  Macedonia  in  the  valley  of  the  lower  Orontes  and 
the  plain  between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Mediterranean.  Here 
they  founded  the  great  city  of  Antioch  as  their  capital.  Without 
the  hardy  peasantry  of  the  Macedonian  homeland,  from  which 
to  recruit  their  armies,  the  Seleucids  found  it  almost  impossible 
to  hold  together  their  vast  empire  of  western  Asia.  P\3rced  out 
of  Asia  Minor  by  the  Romans,  they  lost  also  much  of  their  east- 
ern territory  at  the  hands  of  the  Parthians,  kinsmen  of  the  Per- 
sians, who  energetically  pushed  their  boundarv  westward  even 
to  the  Euphrates.  As  a  result  there  arose  on  the  east  of  the 
Seleucid  empire  a  new  Persian  state  which  not  even  the  power 

^  The  descendants  of  Seleucus. 


in  Asia 


Alexander  the  Girat  and  the  Hellenistie  Age     231 

of  Rome  was  able  to  thrust  back  permanently  from  the  Euphra- 
tes. Behind  the  Parthians  other  Indo-European  tribes  absorbed 
the  easternmost  dominions  of  the  Seleucids  to  the  frontiers  of 


Fig.  ioi.  Restoration  of  thp:  Public  Buildings  of  Pergamum. 
A  Hellenistic  City  of  Asia  Minor.   (After  Thiersch) 

Pergamum,  on  the  west  coast  of  Asia  Minor  (see  map,  p.  80),  became  a 
flourishing  city-kingdom  in  the  third  century  B.C.  under  the  successors 
of  Alexander  the  Great  (p.  229).  The  dweUings  of  the  citizens  were  all 
lower  down,  in  front  of  the  group  of  buildings  shown  here.  These 
public  buildings  stand  on  three  terraces  — lower,  middle,  and  upper.  The 
large  loiver  terrace,  where  we  see  the  groups  of  people,  was  the  main 
market  place,  adorned  with  a  vast  square  marble  altar  of  Zeus,  having 
colonnades  on  three  sides,  beneath  which  was  a  long  sculptured  band 
(frieze)  of  warring  gods  and  giants  (Fig.  112).  The  middle  terrace  (at 
the  right)  contained  a  temple  of  Athena,  and  the  colonnades  behind  it 
adorned  the  famous  library  of  Pergamum,  where  the  stone  bases  of 
library  shelves  still  survive.  The  upper  terrace  once  contained  the 
palace  of  the  king ;  the  temple  now  there  (directly  above  the  Athena  tem- 
ple) was  built  by  the  Roman  Emperor  Trajan  in  the  first  century  a.d. 


India.    Thus  the  Seleucid  empire  shrank  to  the  region  between 
the  Taurus  and  the  Euphrates,  commonly  called  Syria. 

At  the  same  time  the  Antis^onids,  the  kings  of  Macedon,  found   .Antigonids 

'^  1       n  r    1        '"  Macedonia 

It  difficult  to  maintain  their  control  of  Greece,  as  the  fleet  01  the   and  c.reece 
Ptolemies  pushed  into  the  ^gean.    In  war  after  war  the  three 


232  Outlines  of  European  Histojy 

states  of  Macedonia,  Syria,  and  Egypt  devoured  one  another. 
Merc  ]jla\tliings  of  these  great  powers,  the  unhappy  (ireek 
cities  steadily  declined,  and  commercial  leadership  passed  east- 
ward to  Antioch  and  Alexandria  (Fig.  102).    At  length,  as  the 
strength  of  Egypt  declined,  the  other  two  plotted  to  divide  her 
possessions  between  them,  at  the  very  time  when  they  all  should 
have  combined  to  crush  the  growing  powder  of  Rome  in  the  west, 
then  in  the  throes  of  a  deadly  struggle  with  Carthage  (pp.  258 ff.). 
The  result  of  the  failure  of  Macedon,  Syria,  and  Egypt  to  com- 
bine against  Rome  was  their  submission  to  the  rising  city  of  the 
Supremacy       Wcst.    Rome  gradually  extended  her  power  through  the  eastern 
the^E^t  after  Mediterranean,  till,  with  the  seizure  of  Egypt  about  a  generation 
200  B.C.  before  Christ  and  about  three  hundred  years  after  the  death  of 

Alexander,  she  was  supreme  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  Pillars 
of  Hercules  (p.  263). 

Section  39.    The  Civilization  of  the 
Hellenistic  Age 

The  Hellen-  The  three  centuries  following  the  death  of  Alexander  we  call 
supremac^T  the  Hellenistic  Age,  meaning  the  period  in  which  Greek  civili- 
of  the  Greek  nation  spread  throughout  the  ancient  world,  and  was  itself 
much  modified  by  the  culture  of  the  Orient.  While  Greek  cul- 
ture had  greatly  influenced  the  world  outside  Greece  long  before 
Alexander,  his  conquests  placed  Asia  and  Egypt  in  the  hands 
of  Macedonian  rulers  who  were  in  civilization  essentially  Greek. 
Their  language  was  the  Greek  spoken  in  Attica.  The  business 
of  government  was  carried  on  in  this  language,  and,  together 
with  Greek  commerce  and  Greek  literature,  it  made  Greek  the 
international  language  of  the  civilized  world,  the  tongue  of  which 
every  man  of  education  must  be  master.  Thus  the  strong  Jewish 
community  now  living  in  Alexandria  found  it  necessary  to  trans- 
late the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  from  Hebrew  into  Greek, 
in  order  that  their  educated  men  might  read  them.  While  the 
native  peasants  in  the  thickly  populated  portions  of  the  East 


Alexander  the  Great  ami  the  Hellenistie  Age     233 

might  learn  it  but  indifferently,  Greek  became,  nevertheless, 
the  daily  language  of  the  great  cities  and  of  an  enormous 
world  throughout  the  Mediterranean  and  the  F^ast  (Fig.  115). 


Fig.  102.   The   Lighthouse  of  the  Harbor  of  Alexandria 
IX  THE  Hellenistic  Age.   (After  Thiersch) 

The  harbor  of  Alexandria  (see  map  in  corner  above)  was  protected  by 
an  island  called  Pharos,  which  was  connected  with  the  city  by  a  cause- 
way of  stone.  On  the  island  and  bearing  its  name  (Pharos)  was  built 
(after  300  K.c.)  a  vast  stone  lighthouse,  some  three  hundred  and  seventy 
feet  high  (that  is,  over  thirty  stories,  like  those  of  a  modern  skyscraper). 
It  shows  how  vast  was  the  commerce  and  wealth  of  Alexandria  only  a 
generation  after  it  was  founded  by  Alexander  the  Great,  when  it  became 
the  New  York  or  Liverpool  of  the  ancient  world,  the  greatest  port  on 
the  Mediterranean  (p.  232).  The  Pharos  tower,  the  first  of  its  kind,  was 
influenced  in  design  by  oriental  architecture,  and  in  its  turn  it  furnished 
the  model  for  the  earliest  church  spires,  and  also  for  the  minarets  of  the 
Mohammedan  mosques.  It  stood  for  about  sixteen  hundred  years,  the 
greatest  lighthouse  in  the  world,  and  did  not  fall  until  1326  a.d. 

In  a  large  city  like  Alexandria,  founded  as  its  name  sug-   Alexandria 
gests  by  Alexander,  in  the  western  corner  of  the  Nile  Delta,  a 
Greek  of  the  Hellenistic  Age  felt  very  much  at  home.    He  heard 
his  own  language  in  every  street  and  market.    Just  as  in  the 


234 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Education 


The  Uni- 
versity of 
Alexandria ; 
progress  of 
science  and 
philosophy 


homeland,  he  could  go  to  the  theater,  could  wander  into  the  Odeon 
to  listen  to  the  music,  or  spend  an  agreeable  hour  in  conversa- 
tion with  the  idlers  around  the  gymnasium.    At  the  same  time 

he  could  watch  the 
practice  in  the  manly 
sports  and  the  use  of 
weapons,  in  which  the 
youth  were  still  well 
exercised,  or,  if  so 
inclined  as  the  after- 
noon wore  on,  he 
could  listen  to  a  lec- 
ture by  a  philosopher 
or  an  address  by  a 
rhetorician  in  one  of 
the  courts  or  halls  of 
the  gymnasium  —  all 
in  Greek.  To  the 
elementary  branches, 
like  reading  and  writ- 
ing, which  had  been 
learned  at  the  primar)' 
school,  a  young  Greek 
might  here  add  much. 
But  if  the  youth 
wished  to  take  up 
higher  education  seri- 
ously he  might  go  to 
Athens,  still  a  great 
center  of  learning  and 
venerated  by  the  whole  ancient  world  for  her  noble  history. 

The  first  university  that  was  established  by  a  government, 
however,  was  the  institution  which  flourished  in  Alexandria 
under  the  patronage  of  the  Ptolemies,  known  as  the  Museum, 
the  home  of  the  Muses.    Here  the  greatest  philosophers  and 


Fig 


103.  The  Town  Clock  of  Athens 
IN  THE  Hellenistic  Age 


This  tower,  commonly  called  the  "  Tower  of 
the  Winds,"  now  stands  among  modern 
houses  but  once  looked  out  on  the  Athenian 
market  place  (p.  186).  The  arches  at  the  left 
support  part  of  an  ancient  channel  which 
supplied  the  water  for  the  operation  of  a 
water  clock  in  the  tower.  Such  clocks  were 
something  like  hourglasses,  the  flowing 
water  filling  a  given  measure  in  a  given  time, 
like  the  sand  in  the  hourglass.  This  tower 
was  built  in  the  last  century  B.C.,  when  Athens 
was  under  the  control  of  Rome  (p.  263) 


Alexander  the  Great  and  the  Hellenistic  Age     235 

scientists  of  the  world  carried  on  their  studies  and  researches, 
combined  with  some  lecturing  and  teaching.  The  first  great 
library  of  the  Greek  world  containing  many  thousand  rolls  was 
attached  to  this  institution.  Under  the  direction  of  a  pupil  of 
Aristotle,  an  astronomical  observatory  was  erected,  though  as  yet 
without  telescopes,  which  were  unknown  to  the  ancient  world. 
Thus  supported  and  encouraged,  science  reached  a  level  not 
again  attained  until  modern  times,  two  thousand  years  later. 
Greek  thought,  which  culminated  in  the  teaching  of  Socrates, 
Plato,  and  Aristotle,  had  now  developed  into  four  systems,  or 
"schools  of  philosophy"  as  they  are  called,^  which  continued 
for  a  time  to  make  some  progress  in  original  thought.  Of  all 
this  the  educated  man  of  the  time  learned  something,  and 
two  classes  were  now  clearly  distinguished  —  the  educated  and 
the  uneducated. 

The  real  current  of  civilized  life,  as  Aristotle  taught,  was  in  Hellenistic 
the  cities.  To  be  sure  there  were  many  differences  between  the 
cities  of  Eg}pt,  Asia,  Greece,  and  Macedonia  in  this  age.  In 
Eg)'pt  there  were  no  free  cities  and  no  communities  enjoying 
local  self-government  in  the  old  Greek  sense.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Antigonids  granted  to  the  cities  of  Hellas  their  old 
self-government  in  local  affairs,  and  in  Asia  the  numerous  new 
cities  founded  by  the  Seleucids,  as  well  as  the  older  communi- 
ties, were  given  the  same  liberal  privileges.  The  result  was  the 
greatest  stimulation  of  productive  activity  in  all  the  avenues  of 
life,  especially  commercial  and  intellectual  life.  The  cities  of 
Asia  continued  to  produce  great  names  in  the  histoiy  of 
thought  and  art"  (Plate  V,  p.  224,  and  Figs.  99,  112),  but 
such  names  were  noticeably  fewer  in  Egypt. 

Life   in   such   cities   was    more    comfortablv   furnished    and    Life  in  the 

,  ,  Hellenistic 

equipped  than  ever  before.    There  were  roomy  market  places  cities 
(Fig.  1 01),  tree-shaded  gardens  around  the  temples,  and  stalely 

1  The  four  schools  are  :  the  Academy,  Peripatetic.  .Stoic,  and  Epicurean. 
•-i  A  noble  work  of   Hellenistic  art  will  be  found  in  the  figure  of  (he  dying 
"Gaul  at  the  end  of  Chapter  \'I1 1  (p.  214). 


236  Outlines  of  Eu7'opeaji  History 

buildings  to  accommodate  the  pul)lic  offices  and  departments  of 
government.  Along  the  sea  and  in  the  harbors  were  wide  quays 
and  far-reaching  moles,  where  the  traffic  with  distant  lands 
passed  in  and  out.  At  Alexandria  a  vast  lighthouse  tower 
(Fig.  102),  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world,  shed  its  beams  far 
across  the  sea  to  guide  the  mariner  into  the  harbor. 
Time  and  A  public  clock,  either  a  shadow  dial,  such  as  the  well-to-do 

Egyptian  had  had  in  his  house  for  over  a  thousand  years,  or  a 
water  clock  of  Greek  invention  (Fig.  103),  stood  in  the  market 
place  and  furnished  all  the  good  townspeople  with  the  hour  of 
the  day.   The  calendar  used  by  the  government  offices  employed 
the  inconvenient  moon  month  of  Macedonia,  and  that  of  the 
Greeks  was  no  better.     The  Ptolemies  or   the   priests   under 
them  attempted  to  improve  the  practical  and  convenient  Eg}^p- 
tian  calendar  of  twelve  thirty-day  months  (see  p.  23)  by  the 
insertion  ever}'  four  years  of  a  leap  year  with  an  additional  day, 
but  the  people  could  not  be  gotten  out  of  the  rut  into  which 
usage  had  fallen,  and  they  continued  to  use  the  inconvenient 
moon  month  of  the  Greeks.    There  was   no   system  for  the 
numbering  of  the   years   anywhere   but   in   Syria,   where   the 
Seleucids  gave  each  year  a  number  reckoned  from  the  begin- 
ning of  their  sway.   In  Egypt  at  least,  there  was  a  postal  service 
which  carried  all  royal  communications. 
Greek  papers        The  soil  of  the  Nile  valley  is  still  yielding  to  the  modern 
dug  up  in        excavator  enormous  quantities  of  office  documents  and  house- 
Egypt  \\o\6.  papers  (Fig.  104)  written  chiefly  in  Greek,  which  disclose 
to  us  the  way  in  which  the  business  of  government  and  of  private 
citizens  was  then  conducted.   I'hese  masses  of  papers  form  one 
of  the  most  interesting  revelations  of  ancient  life  which  modern 
discovery  has  furnished  us.    Indeed,  the  grave  of  a  member  of 
the   Greek   community  in  Memphis   has  preserved  to  us   the 
oldest-surviving  Greek  book. 
Conimingling        It  is  in  such  papers  that  we  discern  how  Greek  and  oriental 
oriental  life      life  were  interfused  in  these  Hellenistic  states.    While  this  was 
and  religion     ^^^^^  ^£  ^j^^  whole  fabric  of  life,  in  art  and  literature,  in  customs, 


Alexander  the  Great  and  the  Hellenistic  Age     237 

government,  and  language,  it  was  true  especially  of  religion. 
National  boundaries  were  gradually  wiped  out  in  such  matters, 
and  even  before  Alexander's  day  the  Athenians  had  a  ship  en- 
gaged in  carrying  Greeks  across  the  Mediterranean,  that  they 
might  land  at  Cyrene,  penetrate  the  Sahara,  and  consult  the  Egyp- 
tian Amon  in  his  desert  shrine  (see  map,  p.  80,  and  Fig.  100). 
Men  thus  grew  accustomed  to  strange  gods  and  no  longer 
looked  askance  at  foreign  usages  in  religion.  It  was  only  in 
such  a  world  that  Christianity  was  later  able  to  pass  as  a  foreign 
religion  from  land  to  land.  There  was  now  complete  freedom 
of  conscience  —  far  more  freedom,  indeed,  than  the  later  Chris- 
tian rulers  of  Europe  granted  their  subjects.    The  teachings  of 


Fig.  104.    A  Letter  written  on  Papyrus,  folded, 

SEALED,    AND    ADDRESSED 

Among  the  ruins  of  sun-dried  brick  houses  of  the  Hellenistic  Age  in 

Egypt  great  quantities  of  such  papers  are  now  being  found  (p.  236). 

Their  preservation  is  due  to  the  rainless  climate  of  Egypt 

Socrates  would  no  longer  have  incurred  his  condemnation  by 
his  Athenian  neighbors.  From  Babylonia  the  mysterious  lore 
of  the  Chaldean  astrologers  was  spreading  widely  through  the 
Mediterranean.  It  w^as  received  and  accepted  in  Egypt,  and 
even  Greek  science  did  not  escape  its  influence. 

In  this  connection  let  us  not  misunderstand  the  meaning  of   intrusion 
the  Greek  repulse  of  Persia.    Marathon  and  Salamis  were  of  influences 
incalculable  importance  in  quickening  the  life  of  Greece  and   ["rranean 
especially  of  Athens,  and  in  arousing  it  to  a  development  which 
resulted  in  the  highest  fruition  of  Greek  genius  (see  pp.  184- 
194).    But  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  Marathon  and 
Salamis  once  and  for  all  banished  the  influence  of  the  Orient 
from  the  Mediterranean,  as  an  impenetrable  dam  keeps  back  a 
body  of  water.    The  great  fabric  of  oriental  life  in  Asia  and 


238  0?itlines  of  European  Flistory 

Egypt  continued  to  be  a  permanent  force  exerting  a  steady 
pressure  upon  the  life  of  the  Mediterranean  world,  in  commerce, 
in  forms  of  government,  in  customs  and  usages,  in  art,  literature, 
and  religion.  This  pressure  resulted  in  many  ways  in  the  slow 
orientalization  of  the  Mediterranean  w^orld.  When  Christianity 
issued  from  Palestine,  therefore,  as  we  shall  see  (see  p.  300), 
it  found  itself  but  one  among  many  other  influences  from  the 
Orient  which  were  passing  westward.  Thus  while  (jreek  civili- 
zation, with  its  language,  its  art,  its  literature,  its  theaters  and 
gymnasiums,  was  Hellenizing  the  Orient,  the  Orient  in  the 
same  way  was  exercising  a  powerful  influence  on  the  West 
and  was  orientalizing  the  Mediterranean  w^orld. 
Disappear-  In  this  process  let  us  not  fail  to  notice  that  the  Hellenic  civi- 

citL^enship^  lization  was  on  the  whole  the  loser.  In  the  Hellenistic  states 
of  the  East  there  was  no  such  thing  as  national  citizenship. 
Herein  they  resembled  the  earlier  Orient.  Where  citizenship 
existed  it  was  that  of  a  city-state,  and  implied  no  rights  of  the 
city-citizen  in  the  affairs  of  the  great  nation  or  empire  of  which 
the  city-state  w^as  a  part.  It  was  as  if  a  citizen  of  Chicago  might 
vote  at  the  election  of  a  mayor  of  the  city  but  had  no  right  to 
vote  at  the  election  of  a  President  of  the  United  States.  There 
•  was  not  even  a  name  for  the  empire  of  the  Seleucids,  and  their 
subjects,  wherever  they  went,  bore  the  names  of  their  home 
cities  or  countries.^  The  conception  of  "  native  land  "  in  the 
national  sense  was  wanting,  and  patriotism  did  not  exist.  The 
citizen-soldier  who  defended  his  fatherland  had  long  ago  given 
way,  even  in  Greece,  to  the  professional  soldier  who  came  from 
abroad  and  fought  for  hire.  The  Greek  no  longer  stood  weapon 
in  hand  ready  to  defend  his  home  and  his  community  against 
every  assault.  The  patriotic  sense  of  responsibility  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  state  which  he  loved,  and  the  fine  moral  earnestness 
which  this  responsibility  roused,  no  longer  animated  the  Greek 
mind  nor  quickened  it  to  the  loftiest  achievements  in  politics, 
in  art,  in  architecture,  in  literature,  and  in  original  thought. 

lit  was  as  if  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  were  termed  Bostonians,  New 
Yorkers,  Philadelphians,  Chicagoans,  etc. 


Alexander  the  Great  and  the  Hellenistic  Age  ^   239 

Indeed,  in  many  Greek  cities  only  a  discouraged  remnant  of   A  last  at- 
the  citizens  was  left  after  the  emigration  to  Asia.    The  cattle   unTty'^among 
often  browsed  on  the  grass  growing  in  the  public  square  before  *^  Greeks 
the  town  hall  in  such  cities.    To  be  sure,  ^'Etolia,  of  little  fame 
in  Greek  history,  stood  forth  in  these  declining  days  of  Hellas 
and  devised  a  form  of  federation  for  the  union  of  the  Greek 
states  probably  better  than  any  before  known.    But  alas,  it  was 
too  late ;  no  lasting  union  ensued. 

The  sumptuous  buildings"  and  the  pretentious  home  of  science  Final  decline 
in  Alexandria  (p.  234)  represented  little  more  than  the  high  civiHzation 
aims  of  the  Macedonian  kings  of  Egypt.  They  were  no  indica- 
tion of  widespread  productive  power  still  active  in  the  Greek 
race  as  a  zvhole.  For  when  such  state  support  failed,  with 
its  salaries  and  pensions  to  scientists  and  philosophers,  the 
line  of  scientists  failed  too,  and  we  see  at  once  how  largely 
science  in  the  Hellenistic  Age  was  rooted  in  the  treasuries  of 
the  Hellenistic  kings,  rather  than  in  the  minds  of  the  Greek 
race,  as  it  had  been  of  old.  Add  to  this  the  extortions  and 
robberies  of  the  Roman  tax  gatherer  under  the  last  century 
of  the  Roman  Republic  (see  p.  277);  the  criminal  failure  of 
Rome  to  protect  her  eastern  dependencies  of  the  Greek  world 
from  piracy  and  pillage  (p.  277);  the  hopeless  outlook  for 
the  liberties  and  the  commercial  prosperity  of  Hellas,  and  we 
have  reasons  enough  for  the  tragic  decline  of  Greek  civilization 
which  set  in  during  the  last  two  of  the  three  centuries  of  the 
Hellenistic  x^ge. 

The  Greeks  had  brought  the  world  to  a  higher  level  of  civi-  The  end 
lization  than  men  had  ever  seen  before,  but  they  had  not  been  j^eadeSiip 
able  to  unite  and  organize  it.  Not  even  their  own  Hellas  was 
a  unified  nation.  The  w^orld  which  the  Greeks,  as  successors 
of  the  Orient,  had  civilized  was  now  to  be  organized  and  uni- 
fied by  a  much  less  gifted  but  more  practical  race,  whose  city  on 
the  Tiber  was  destined  to  become  the  mistress  of  an  enduring 
world  empire. 


240  Outlines  of  European  History 

QUESTIONS 

Section  35.  (iive  an  account  of  the  northern  (Jreeks  and  their 
kindred  in  the  north.  What  was  the  policy  of  Philip  of  Macedon  ? 
Give  an  account  of  his  career  and  its  effects  in  Greece. 

Sectiox  36.  Give  an  account  of  the  youth  of  Alexander.  De- 
scribe his  early  dealings  with  the  Greeks.  How  did  he  desire  to  be 
regarded  ?  Describe  his  conquest  of  Asia  Minor.  What  was  his  great 
purpose  thereafter?    What  did  his  father's  counselors  think  of  it? 

What  was  the  result?  How  was  the-danger  from  the  Persian  fieet 
removed  ?  W^hat  conquest  was  gained  at  the  same  time  ?  What  move 
in  Asia  did  Alexander  now  make?  Describe  the  end  of  the  Per- 
sian Empire.  How  long  had  it  lasted  (p.  108)?  What  extraordinary 
campaigns  did  Alexander  then  carry  out  ?    W^hat  results  followed  ? 

Section  37.  Describe  Alexander's  efforts  on  behalf  of  science. 
What  organization  of  the  world  he  ruled  did  he  undertake  ?  What 
was  to  be  the  relation  of  Europe  and  Asia?  What  other  conquests 
had  he  in  mind? 

What  necessary  position  was  he  himself  to  occupy  in  the  new 
world  empire?  Recount  his  visit  to  the  oracle  at  the  oasis  of  Siwa 
and  its  purpose.  W^hat  were  the  Greek  cities  now  asked  to  do  ? 
What  personal  consequences  did  Alexander  suffer  ?  What  was  the 
date  of  his  death  ? 

Section  38.  What  were  the  consequences  of  Alexander's  death  ? 
What  became  of  his  royal  line  ?  What  great  divisions  of  his  empire 
finally  emerged  ?  Who  were  the  rulers  of  these  ?  Give  an  account 
of  each  of  these  realms.    What  western  influence  succeeded  them  ? 

Section  39.  WHiat  do  we  mean  by  the  Hellenistic  Age?  What 
is  the  leading  language  of  the  Hellenistic  Age  ?  Describe  Alexandria 
and  its  great  institutions.  What  was  the  result  for  science  ?  Describe 
the  other  cities.  What  practical  conveniences  for  measuring  time 
were  now  common  ?    Tell  something  of  the  Greek  papyri  in  Egypt. 

Describe  the  commingling  of  Greek  and  oriental  life.  Did  the 
Greek  victories  at  Marathon  and  Salamis  banish  oriental  influences 
from  Greece  and  the  Mediterranean?'  Did  citizenship  improve  and 
develop?  Did  civilization  continue  to  advance  under  these  condi- 
tions ?  What  other  influences  brought  on  the  final  decline  of  Greek 
civilization  ? 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  WESTERN  WORLD  AND  ROME  TO  THE  FALL 
OF  THE  REPUBLIC 

Section  40.    The  Western  Mediterranean  World 
AND  Early  Italy 


The  western  Mediterranean  forms  a  large  detached  basin,  The  western 
marked  off  from  the  eastern  Mediterranean  by  the  Italian  ranean  world 
peninsula  and  the  Island  of  Sicily.  There  is  no  geographical 
name  for  this  western  basin,  but  with  its  islands  and  surround- 
ing countries  we  may  call  it  the  western  Mediterranean  world. 
The  most  important  land  in  the  western  Mediterranean  world 
in  early  times  was  Italy. 

Italy  ^  is  not  only  four  times  as  large  as  Greece,  but,  unlike   Geography 

„  .     .  '  ,  ,         r  •        •  .      i  and  climate 

Greece,  it  is  not  cut  up  by  a  tangle  of  mountains  into  tortuous  ^f  j^aiy 
valleys  and  tiny  plains.  The  main  chain  of  the  Apennines, 
though  crossing  the  peninsula  obliquely  in  the  north,  is  nearly 
parallel  with  the  coasts  and  many  of  its  outlying  ridges  are 
quite  so.  There  are  larger  plains  than  we  find  anywhere  in 
Greece ;  at  the  same  time  there  is  much  more  room  for  upland 

1  The  area  of  Italy  is  about  110,000  square  miles,  roughly  equaling  the  area 
of  the  state  of  Nevada,  and  not  quite  four  times  the  area  of  South  Carolina. 
I  241 


242 


Outlines  of  European  History 


pasturage  and  there  are  more  forests.    This  last  fact  is  due  to 
the  latitude  of  Italy  ;  as  a  whole,  it  lies  well  north  of  Greece  and 

hence  enjoys  more  of 
the  northern  rains. 
There  are  far  better 
opportunities  for  agri- 
culture and  livestock 
in  Italy  than  in  Greece, 
and  a  considerably 
larger  population  can 
be  supported  in  the 
plains.  At  the  same 
time  the  coast  is  not 
so  cut  up  and  in- 
dented as  in  Greece ; 
there  are  fewer  good 
harbors.  Hence  agri- 
culture and  livestock 
developed  much  ear- 
lier than  trade.  Italy 
slopes  westward,  in 
the  main  ;  it  faces  and 
belongs  to  the  western 
Mediterranean  world. 
Three  great  islands 
lie  before  the  penin- 
sula and  tempt  to  ex- 
pansion thither. 

Italy  and  the  west- 
em  Mediterranean 
world  were  further 
removed     from     the 


300 


Fig.  105.    Ground  Plan  of  a  Prehis- 
toric Pile  Village  in  Italy 

The  settlement  was  surrounded  by  a  moat 
(A)  nearly  one  hundred  feet  across,  filled 
with  water  from  a  connected  river  (C).  In- 
side the  moat  was  an  earth  wall  (B)  about 
fifty  feet  thick  at  the  base.  The  village  thus 
inclosed  was  about  two  thousand  feet  long ; 
that  is,  four  city  blocks.  The  whole  village, 
being  in  the  marshes  of  the  Po  valhey,  was 
supported  on  piles,  like  the  lake-villages 
(Fig.  5).  The  plan  and  arrangement  of 
streets  are  exactly  those  of  the  Roman  mili- 
tary camp  later  derived  from  it 


Orient  than  the  yEgean.  Living  as  they  did  on  the  threshold 
of  the  Orient,  the  peoples  of  the  .'P^gean  had  responded  quickly 
to  the  civilizing;  influences  of  the  East ;  but  while  the  .Egeans 


The  Western  World  ami  Rome 


^43 


and  the  Greeks  were  making  the  most  *\vonderf  ul  progress,  the  The  western 

peoples  of  the  western  Mediterranean  world  had  lagged  far  be-  ranean  in 

hind  and  had  made  little  advance  in  civilization  since  the  days  Prehistoric 

-^  times 

of  the  Swiss  lake-dwellers.^ 

Some  movements  among  these  early  westerners  had  occurred.  Earliest  Italy 
The  lake-dwellers  of  Switzerland  (p.  ii)  had  pushed  southward 


'  f ' 


Fig.  io6.   Prehistoric  Sardinians 

Part  of  the  bodyguard  of  Ramses  II,  king  of  Egypt,  as  shown  on  the 

wall  of  the  temple  of  Abu  Simbel  (Fig.  30)  in  the  twelfth  century  B.C. 

Notice  the  heavy  metal  swords  of  these  westerners,  and  see  p.  53 

through  the  Alpine  passes  and  occupied  the  lakes  of  north- 
ern Italy.  The  remains  of  over  a  hundred  of  their  pile- 
supported  settlements  (Fig.  105)  have  also  been  found  under 
the  soil  of  the  Po  valley,  once  a  vast  morass ;  and  the  city  of 
A^enice,  still  standing  on  piles,  is  a  surviving  example  of  their 
methods  of  building  in  this  region.    They  had  their  influence 

1  The  student  should  here  reread  pp.  10-16. 


244 


Outlines  of  Ru7vpcan  Histoiy 


Prehistoric 
intercourse 
between  Italy 
and  the  East 


The 
Etruscans 


on  the  later  Romans,  whose  military  camj)  exactly  reproduced 
the  plan  of  the  Po  valley  pile  settlement  (Fig.  105). 

We  do  not  know  the  race  of  these  })eople  of  the  pile  villages, 
but  in  the  Po  Valley  they  entered  the  area  of  more  direct  influ- 
ence from   the   eastern    Mediterranean.     Articles   wrought  by 

the  craftsmen  of 
Egypt  (see  cut,  p. 
16)  and  of  Cnos- 
sus  were  then  find- 
ing their  way  into 
these  regions,  and 
the  westerners  who 
received  them  were 
beginning  to  ap- 
pear in  the  east- 
em  Mediterranean. 
Some  of  these 
early  westerners, 
the  descendants  of 
Stone  Age  Europe, 
who  lived  on  the 
island  of  Sardinia, 
took  service  as 
hired  soldiers  in 
the  army  of  the 
declining  Egyptian 
Empire  (p.  53), 
and  we  find  them 
pictured  on  the 
Egyptian  monu- 
ments, bearing  huge  bronze  swords  and  heavy  round  shields 
(Fig.  106).  They  mark  the  earliest  appearance  of  the  men  of 
the  West  in  the  arena  of  history  yet  to  be  dominated  by  them. 
At  the  same  time,  the  northern  coast  of  Italy  opposite 
Corsica  was  occupied  by  a  powerful  group  of  sea  rovers  like  the 


Fig.  107.  Etruscan  Chariot  of  Bronze 

This  magnificent  work  illustrates  the  ability  of 
the  Etruscans  in  the  art  of  bronze-working 
(p.  246).  The  chariot  was  found  in  an  Etruscan 
tomb  ;  it  is  of  full  size  and  now  belongs  to  the 
Metropolitan  Museum  of  New  York  City 


I'o^       Longitude       12°       East   from      il°       Greenwich       16" 


Map  of  Ancient  Italy 
245 


246    ■  Oiitliiics  of  Ejiropcan  History 

Sardinians.  We  call  them  Etruscans.  They  were  a  people  whose 
origin  is  still  uncertain  ;  they  probably  had  an  earlier  home  in 
western  Asia  Minor,'  and  the  Egyptian  monuments  tell  us  of 
their  sea  raids  on  the  coast  of  the  Delta  as  far  back  as  the 
thirteenth  century-  B.C.,  at  a  time  when  they  were  perhaps  leav- 
ing Asia  Minor  in  search  of  a  new  home  in  Italy.  Here  the 
Etruscans  fast  developed  into  the  most  civilized  and  powerful 
people  north  of  the  Greek  colonies  of  Sicily  and  southern  Italy 
(p.  147).  Greek  religion  and  arts  found  easy  entrance  among 
them  ;  they  mined  copper  and  became  masters  in  metal  work 
(Fig.  107).  Their  utensils  of  bronze  found  a  ready  market  even 
in  Greece  i  p.  1 49).  They  learned  to  write  with  Greek  letters,  and 
they  have  left  behind  thousands  of  inscriptions,  which  unfortu- 
nately we  cannot  yet  read.  The  west  coast  of  Italy  from  the 
Bay  of  Naples  almost  to  Genoa,  including  the  inland  country 
as  far  as  the  Apennines,  was  finally  held  by  the  Etruscans.  They 
seemed  destined  to  become  the  final  lords  of  Italy,  and  they  con- 
tinued as  an  important  people  of  the  \\'est  far  down  into  Roman 
history. 

But  the  Etruscans  were  not  the  only  immigrants  who  sought 
an  early  home  in  Italy.  The  tribes  forming  the  western  end  of 
the  Indo-European  migration  (pp.  86-91)  early  felt  the  attrac- 
tiveness of  this  warm,  sunny,  and  fertile  peninsula."  Probably 
not  long  after  the  Greeks  pushed  into  the  Greek  peninsula 
(p.  124),  the  western  tribes  of  Indo-European  blood  had  threaded 
the  Alpine  passes  from  the  north  and  entered  the  beautiful  Medi- 
terranean world  into  which  the  Italian  peninsula  extends.  They 
took  possession  of  the  main  portion  of  the  peninsula,  where  we 
call  them  "  Italic  "  peoples.  In  Italy  their  dialects  so  differed 
among  themselves  that  hardly  a  tribe  of  the  Italic  peoples  was 
able  to  understand  its  kindred  of  the  next  group  of  tribes. 

^  They  do  not  belong  to  the  Indo-European  line  (Fig.  49). 
2  Whether  the    lake-dwellers    represent   a  western  migration   of    the   Indo- 
European  peoples  or  not  we  do  not  know. 


The  Western  World  and  Rome 


247 


Section  41.    Earliest  Rome 
On  the  south  or  east  banks  of  the  Tiber,  which  flows  into  the   The  tribes 

.    ,  r  T     1     /  \     1  of  ''  Latium 

sea  in  the  middle  of  the  west  coast  of  Italy  (see  map,  p.  245),  there 
was  a  group  of  Italic  tribes  known  as  the  Latins.  They  occupied  a 
plain  (Fig.  108),  less  than  thirty  by  forty  miles/  that  is  smaller 


Fig.  108.   Thp:  Plaix  of  Latium 

We  look  eastward  from  Rome  to  the  Sabine  Mountains.  The  arches 
on  the  left  are  part  of  an  immense  aqueduct  built  by  the  Roman 
Emperor  Claudius  in  the  first  century  a.d.  The  whole  waterway  was 
over  forty  miles  long.  Much  of  it  was  subterranean,  but  for  the  last  ten 
miles  it  was  carried  on  these  tall  masonry  arches,  which  conducted  the 
water  to  the  palace  of  the  emperors  in  Rome 

than  many  an  American  county.  They  called  it  "  Latium," 
whence  their  own  name,  "  Latins."  Like  all  their  Italic  neighbors 
they  lived  scattered  in  small  communities  cultivating  grain  and 
maintaining  flocks  on  the  upland.  Their  land  was  not  very  fertile, 
and  the  battle  for  existence  developed  hardy  and  tenacious  chil- 
dren of  the  soil.    They  had  little  to  do  with  their  neighbors. 


1  Latium  probably  contained  something  over  seven  hundred  square  miles. 


248 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Once  a  year,  however,  they  went  ujd  to  the  Alban  Mount  (Fig. 
109),  where  all  the  Latin  tribes  united  in  a  feast  of  their  chief 
god,  Jupiter,  whose  rude  mud-brick  sanctuary  was  on  the  Mount. 


Fig.  109.    Ruins  of  the  Roman  PY^kum 

The  scene  is  taken  from  the  Capitol  Hill  (see  plan,  p.  250)  looking  south- 
eastward along  the  Forum  to  the  distant  Alban  Mount  on  the  horizon 
(p.  248).  The  steep  elevation  at  the  right  is  the  Palatine  Hill,  where  the 
palace  of  the  Roman  emperors  stood.  The  long  lines  of  bases  of  col- 
umns on  the  right  belonged  to  a  basilica  built  by  Julius  Caesar  (Fig.  113); 
on  the  left  of  these  was  the  open  market  place  of  the  Forum  (p.  249) ; 
the  columns  in  the  foreground  belong  to  the  Temple  of  Saturn  (Fig.  113), 
which  was  used  as  a  treasury  by  the  Rom-an  government 


Sometimes,  too,  they  were  forced  to  unite  with  the  other  commu- 
nities to  defend  themselves  against  their  neighbors,  especially  the 
Samnites,  a  powerful  group  of  mountain  tribes  in  the  south. 

It  was  at  such  times  that  the  peasant  was  obliged  to  make 
the  day's  journey  up  to  the  town  to  purchase  weapons  for  his 
son,  when  he  reached  fighting  age.   These  —  the  spear,  the  short 


TJie  Western  World  and  Rome  249 

sword,  and  the  shield  — -  he  has  adopted  from  the  Samnites.  His 
fathers  could  find  them  in  the  market  made  only  of  bronze,  but 
now  they  were  to  be  had  of  iron,  and  a  bronze  sword  was  a  rarity. 
The  market  was  at  a  ford  in  the  Tiber  just  above  the  coast 
marshes,  which  extend  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  inland  from 
its  mouth.  At  this  ford  the  Etruscan  merchants  from  the  north 
side  crossed  over  with  their  wares  to  find  a  market  among  the 
Latin  peasants.  The  traffic  resulted  in  a  settlement  on  a  hill 
known  as  the  Palatine^  (Fig.  109).  The  settlement  had  long  Etruscan 
been  there  and  a  line  of  Etruscan  nobles  had  once  succeeded  in  Rome° 
gaining  control  of  the  place  as  its  kings.  Several  other  hills  close 
by,  seven  of  them  in  all,  bore  straggling  settlements  which  grad- 
ually merged  into  a  considerable  city,  indeed  the  largest  of 
middle  Italy.  It  was  called  Rome.  The  peasant  could  recall 
the  tradition  which  told  how  the  townsmen,  as  they  increased 
in  wealth  and  power,  rose  against  their  Etruscan  lords  and 
expelled  them. 

As  he  reaches  the  market  place,  the  "  forum  "  (Fig.  109,  and  Greek  ships 
plan,  p.  250),  which  lies  beside  the  Palatine  and  another  hill  known  influences 
as  the  Capitol,  he  looks  down  the  valley  toward  the  river.  There 
lies  a  group  of  ships  from  the  great  Mediterranean  world  out- 
side, of  which  the  peasant  knows  so  little.  Some  of  them  are 
from  the  Greek  cities  of  the  south  (cut,  p.  166)  and  some  from 
the  Etruscan  ports  along  the  northern  coast.  There  are  no 
Roman  ships  among  them.  The  peasant  goes  down  to  the  dock. 
Here  he  finds  a  Roman  mechanic  building  a  ship  constructed 
exactly  like  the  Greek  and  Etruscan  ships  beside  it. 

The  Greek  merchants  bring  written  invoices  and  bills.    The   Greek  in- 
Romans,   entirely  unable    to    read    them    at   first,   are    slowly   the  alphabet 

1  The  traditional  date  for  the  foundation  of  Rome  —  namely,  the  middle  of  the 
eighth  century  B.C.  (often  753  B.C.) — has  come  to  us  from  the  ancient  Roman 
historians  and  is  worthless.  There  was  a  settlement  of  men  at  this  important  place 
on  the  Tiber  as  early  as  the  Late  Stone  Age.  In  later  times  the  Roman  folk  told 
fabulous  tales  about  the  foundation  of  the  city  by  two  brothers, Romulus  and  Remus, 
and  these  tales  were  long  accepted  as  narratives  of  fact,  though  it  is  evident  that 
they  are  purely  fanciful.  The  headpiece  of  this  chapter  (p.  241)  shows  the  two 
brothers  as  infants  suckled  by  a  wolf,  according,  to  the  tradition. 


250 


Outlines  of  European  History 


learning  to  spell  them  out,  and  thus  finally  to  recognize  a  Greek 
word  here  and  there.  Ere  long  they  are  scribbling  memoranda 
of  their  own  transactions  in  these  Greek  letters,  which  in  this 
way  become  likewise  the  Roman  alphabet,  slightly  changed  of 
course  to  suit  the  Latin  language  used  in  Rome.  It  is  this 
alphabet  which  descended  from  the  Orient  through  Rome  to  us. 


Plan  of  Rome  uxder  the  Emperors 


The  Greek  merchant  on  the  dock  has  a  sack  full  of  copper 
coins  and  a  smaller  purse  filled  with  silver  ones.  These  too  the 
Roman  tradesman  learns  to  use,  against  the  day  when  his  own 
city  shall  begin  to  coin  them.  He  is  obliged  to  accept  also  the 
measures  of  bulk  and  of  length  with  which  the  Greek  measures 
out  to  him  the  things  he  buys.    The  peasant  hears  the  merchants 


influences - 
religion 


TJie  Western  World  and  Rome  2  5  i 

on  the  dock  speaking  Greek.  He  too  learns  the  Greek  words 
for  the  clothing  offered  for  sale,  for  household  utensils  and  pot- 
tery and  other  things  connected  with  traffic.  These  words  be- 
come part  of  the  daily  fund  of  Roman  speech. 

The  Latin  peasant  looks  on  with  wonderment  at  all  this  world  Greek 
of  civilized  life  of  which  he  knows  so  little  —  a  world  in  which 
these  clever  Greeks  seem  so  much  at  home.  Indeed,  they  bring 
in  things  which  cannot  be  weighed  and  measured  like  produce, 
from  a  realm  of  which  the  Roman  is  but  beginning  to  catch 
fleeting  glimpses.  For  the  peasant  hears  of  strange  gods  of  the 
Greeks,  and  he  is  told  that  they  are  the  counterparts  or  the 
originals  of  his  own  gods.  For  him  there  is  a  god  over  each 
realm  in  nature  and  each  field  of  human  life  :  Jupiter  is  the 
great  sky-god  and  king  of  all  the  gods  ;  Mars,  the  patron  of  all 
warriors ;  Venus,  the  queen  of  love ;  Vesta  presides  over  the 
household  life,  with  its  hearth  fire  surviving  from  the  nomad 
days  of  the  fathers  on  the  Asiatic  steppe  a  thousand  years  be- 
fore (p.  91);  Ceres  is  the  goddess  who  maintains  the  fruit- 
fulness  of  the  earth,  and  especially  the  grain  fields  (compare 
English  "  cereal ") ;  and  Mercury  is  the  messenger  of  the 
gods  who  protects  intercourse  and  //z^rr/zandising,  as  his  name 
shows.  The  streets  are  full  of  stories  which  the  townsmen 
have  learned  from  the  Greeks,  regarding  the  heroic  adventures 
of  these  divinities  when  they  were  on  earth.  The  peasant 
learns  that  Venus  is  the  Greek  Aphrodite,  Mars  is  Apollo, 
Ceres  is  Demeter,  and  so  on. 

The  oracles  delivered  by  the  Greek  Sibyl,  the  prophetess  of  Oracles 
x\pollo  of  Delphi  (Fig.  82),  are  deeply  reverenced  in  Italy; 
gathered  in  the  Sibylline  Books,  they  are  regarded  by  the  Roman 
townsmen  as  mysterious  revelations  of  the  future.  There  are 
also  other  means  of  piercing  the  veil  of  the  future,  for  the  towns- 
men tell  the  peasant  how  the  Etruscans  are  able  to  discover  in 
the  liver  or  the  entrails  of  a  sheep  killed  for  sacrifice  hints  and 
signs  of  the  outcome  of  the  next  war ;  but  the  peasant  does 
not  know  as  we  do  that  this  art  was  received  bv  the  Etruscans 


252 


Outlines  of  European  Histoiy 


Mechanical 
character 
of  Roman 
religion 


The  rise  of 
the  Roman 
republic 


The  struggle 
between  the 
people  and 
the  patricians 
of  Rome 


from  the  Babylonians  by  way  of  Asia  Minor,  whence  the  Etrus- 
cans have  brought  it  to  the  Romans. 

An  art  like  this  appealed  to  the  rather  coldly  calculating  mind 
of  the  Roman.  To  such  a  mind,  lacking  a  warm  and  vivid 
imagination,  the  Greek  myths  opened  a  new  world.  To  such  a 
mind  the  gods  required  only  the  fulfillment  of  all  formal  cere- 
monies, and  if  these  w^ere  carried  out  w^ith  legal  exactness,  all 
would  be  well.  As  the  Roman  looked  toward  his  gods  he  felt 
no  doubts  or  problems,  like  those  which  troubled  the  spirit  of 
Euripides  (p.  190).  The  Roman  saw  only  a  list  of  mechanical 
duties  easily  fulfilled.  Hence  he  was  fitted  for  great  achieve- 
ment in  political  and  legal  organization,  but  not  for  new  and 
original  developments  in  religion,  art,  literature,  or  even  science. 

When  the  city  on  the  Tiber  had  rid  itself  of  its  Etruscan 
kings  (p.  249)  it  was  ruled  by  a  body  of  nobles  called  "  patri- 
cians." It  began  a  political  development  much  like  that  which 
we  have  met  in  the  Greek  cities.  By  the  middle  of  the  fifth 
century  B.C.  the  people  had  secured  protection  from  the  whim 
of  the  judge  by  a  WTitten  code  of  laws,  engraved  on  twelve 
tables  of  bronze.  Public  affairs  were  largely  controlled  by  a 
council  of  old  men  known  as  the  Senate  (a  word  connected 
with  seiiex,  meaning  "  an  old  man " ).  At  the  head  of  the 
government  were  tw^o  elective  magistrates  of  the  same  powers, 
called  "  consuls."  The  peasantry,  or  "  multitude  '"  {plebs,  com- 
pare "  plebeian  "),  of  the  district  immediately  surrounding  the 
city  made  up  an  assembly  of  the  people,  which  struggled  for 
greater  power  in  government. 

It  was  a  struggle  for  the  rights  of  the  lower  classes  like  that 
which  we  have  seen  in  Egypt  (p.  42),  in  Palestine  (p.  105),  and 
in  Greece  (p.  132).  In  Greece  and  Rome,  how^ever,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  Orient,  there  was  the  important  difference  that 
the  struggle  resulted  not  in  monarchy,  but  in  a  republican  form 
of  government,  giving  the  people  a  share  in  its  control.  In 
Rome  the  peasant's  demand  for  a  vote  and  voice  in  govern- 
ment was  heeded.     He  finally  gained  the  right  to  election  as 


The  Western  World  and  Rome  253 

consul  (366  B.C.)  and  to  representation  in  the  Senate.  Eut 
here  the  fine  political  insight  of  the  Roman  demonstrates  his 
superiority  to  the  Greek  in  such  matters. 

The  patricians,  or  aristocrats,  continued  to  hold  the  leader-   The  leader- 
ship, and  they  contrived  so  to  control  the  power  of  the  popular  theTsenate^ 
assembly  as  not  to  expose  public  affairs  to  the  passing  humors 
of  a  changeable  city  multitude  like  that  of  Athens.    This  stable 
leadership  of  a  group  of  seasoned  councilors  in   the   Roman 
Senate  was  the  chief  reason  for  the  success  of  Roman  govern- 
ment, and  saved  the  Romans  from  the  fate  of  Athens  after  the 
death  of  Pericles  (p.  197).     Rome  was  thus   an   "-aristocratic  ■ 
republic  "  —  more  so  than  Athens. 

At  the  same  time  the  people  w^ere  not  without  protection  Tribunes 
from  injustice  at  the  hands  of  the  aristocrats.  They  gained  the 
right  to  elect  tribunes  as  their  magistrates,  who  enjoyed  great 
power  to  shield  any  citizen  from  oppression  by  the  State.  One 
of  the  tribunes  named  Licinius  secured  the  passage  of  a  law  Licinian  laws 
intended  to  relieve  the  peasantry  from  financial  oppression  by 
large  landholders,  and  limiting  the  amount  of  land  which  could 
be  held  by  a  rich  man.^  In  times  of  great  danger  to  the  State, 
it  was  possible  to  appoint  a  "  Dictator"  with  absolute  power  to  '•  Dictator" 
rule  as  the  crisis  might  require.  The  presence  of  the  Greek 
cities  in  the  south  had  exerted  a  great  influence  in  leading  the 
Romans  to  a  city  form  of  state,  but  the  native  genius  of  the 
Roman  for  government  saved  him  from  the  political  mistakes 
of  the  Greeks.  Similarly  the  exaction  of  military  service  from 
every  landholding  peasant  and  the  census'"^  arrangements  sug- 
gest Greek  customs.  These  developments  in  government  were 
a  slow  process  occupying  centuries.  Meantime  the  Roman 
republic  was  continually  expanding  and  to  this  steady  growth 
we  must  now  turn  our  attention. 

^Such  abuses  had  become  a  great  evil,  as  in  Greece  (p.  153).  The  date  of 
the  Licinian  law  is  uncertain,  though  commonly  placed  in  367  B.C.  See,  how- 
ever, p.  263,  for  the  later  conditions  calling  for  such  laws. 

^  These  w^ere  controlled  by  "  censors,"  a  word  which  has  descended  to  us 
from  the  Romans  like  so  many  other  of  our  terms  of  government. 


254 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Section  42.  The  Exi'Ansion  of  the  Ro.max  J^EfUBLic 

The  motive  power  which  brought  about  the  expansion  of 
Rome  beyond  the  limits  of  the  city  was  largely  the  necessity  of 
defense  against  the  intrusion  of  neighboring  tribes  living  out- 
side Latium,  especially  the  Samnites  and  their  kinsmen,  who 
endeavored  to  seize  the  territory  of  the  Latin  tribes.  The 
Latins  found  the  leadership  and  the  protection  of  the  city  in- 
valuable under  such  circumstances,  and  a  permanent  league 
naturally  developed  uniting  the  tribes  of  Latium  under  the 
leadership  of  the  city  of  Rome.  I'he  obligation  to  bear  arms, 
if  they  owned  land,  gave  to  the  peasants  of  Latium  the  right  to 
demand  citizenship,  and  the  men  of  all  the  straggling  Latin  com- 
munities, over  thirty  in  number,  were  at  length  received  as  Roman 
citizens.  It  was  herein  that  the  Roman  Senate  displayed  a 
sagacity  which  cannot  be  too  much  admired.  While  the  Greek 
city  always  jealously  guarded  its  citizenship  and  would  not  grant 
it  to  any  one  born  outside  its  borders,  the  Roman  Senate  con- 
ferred citizenship  as  a  means  of  expansion  and  increased  power. 

As  their  intruding  neighbors,  like  the  Samnites  or  the 
Volscians,  were  thrust  back  and  new  territory  was  thus  gained, 
the  Romans  planted  colonies  of  citizens  in  the  new  lands  con- 
quered, or  ultimately  granted  citizenship  to  the  absorbed  popu- 
lation. Roman  peasants,  obligated  to  bear  Roman  arms  and 
having  a  voice  in  government,  thus  pushed  out  into  the  ex- 
panding borders  of  Roman  territory.  This  policy  of  agricultural 
expansion  steadily  and  consistently  followed  by  the  Senate 
finally  made  Rome  mistress  of  Italy.  It  was  a  policy  Vv^hich 
knit  together  into  an  invincible  structure  of  government  the  city 
and  the  outlying  communities  of  its  weapon-bearing  peasants. 
It  gave  to  Rome  an  ever  increasing  body  of  citizen-soldiers, 
greater  at  last  than  any  other  state  could  muster,  in  the  whole 
ancient  world.  Curiously  enough  this  nation  which  was  about 
to  include  the  territory  of  all  Italy  remained  a  city-state,  add- 
ing distant  regions  of  Italy  as  if  they  were  new  wards  of  the 


TJie  Wcstci'ii   World  and  Rome  255 

city.    But  the  citizens  of  these  distant  wards  lost  their  votes 
rather  than  take  the  trouble  to  go  up  to  the  city  to  vote. 

While  this  steady  expansion  of  Rome  was  going  on,  a  tre-   Gallic  and 
mendous  migration  of  Gauls  inundated  southern  Europe.     The  wars^'Rome 
Gauls  were  a  vast  group  of  Indo-European  tribes  extending:   ^^'"^^  ^"' 

■^  °    premacy 

across  what  is  novv^  France,  from  the  English  Channel  to  the  Po  in  Italy 
valley  in  Italy.  Their  eastern  tribes  entered  the  Balkan  Pen- 
insula and  even  pushed  into  Asia  Minor.-^  At  one  time  they 
seemed  about  to  overwhelm  the  nations  on  the  north  of  the 
Mediterranean,  as  the  Germans  later  did  (p.  305).  These  in- 
vasions by  the  Gauls  swept  over  the  city  of  Rome  after  400  b.c. 
and  almost  submerged  it.  Nevertheless  the  hardy  city  survived. 
The  rivalry  with  the  Samnites  continued.  These  enemies  in 
the  south  might  win  miore  than  one  battle,  but  they  could  not 
break  down  the  stability  of  the  State  which  the  sagacious  Roman 
Senate  had  welded  together.  Rival  peoples,  like  the  Samnites, 
lacked  such  a  system,  and  furthermore  they  lacked  such  a  city  as 
Rome  to  serve  as  a  nucleus  and  center  of  union.  By  300  b.c.  the 
lands  absorbed  by  the  Romans  had  quite  enveloped  the  Samnites 
on  east  and  west,  and  in  the  north  likewise  had  carried  the  Roman 
boundaries  far  into  Etruscan  territory  and  well  up  the  Tiber. 
Hence  not  even  the  combined  assaults  of  Etruscan,  Samnite,  and 
Gaul  could  exhaust  the  resources  of  the  Roman  State.  When 
the  Roman  legions  met  the  Gauls  at  Sentinum  and  overwhelm- 
ingly defeated  them  (295  e.g.),  they  won  the  supremacy  of  Italy 
for  the  city  on  the  Tiber.  Henceforth,  unchallenged,  Roman 
dominion  in  Italy  was  a  matter  of  a  short  time.  While  the 
eastern  empire  of  Alexander  the  Great  was  being  cut  up  and 
parceled  out  by  his  Macedonian  generals  (p.  229),  Italy  was 
undergoing  a  process  of  stable  consolidation  which  brought  even 
the  Greek  cities  in  the  south  of  the  peninsula  (see  cut,  p.  166) 
under  Roman  rule  (272  B.C.). 

1  The  figure  of  the  dying  Gaul  (see  end  of  Chapter  VIII,  p.  214),  once  set  up 
in  Pergamum  in  Asia  Minor  (Fig.  loi),  represents  one  of  the  Gauls  who  invaded 
Asia  Minor.' 


256 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Such  compe- 
tition aided 
by  the  failure 
of  western 
Greeks  to 
unite 


Meantime  the  eity  itself  had  greatly  grown.  The  seven  hills 
had  long  before  been  covered  with  buildings,  and  the  capture 
of  the  town  by  the  Gauls  had  taught  the  Romans  to  surround 
the  place  with  a  wall.  While  the  wall  was  of  massive  stone, 
the  buildings  within  were  chiefly  of  wood  and  sun-baked  brick. 
They  were  simple  and  unpretentious,  and  there  was  hardly  a 
building  of  monumental  architecture  in  the  city.  A  fine  paved 
road,  leading  southward  to  the  city  of  Capua  in  the  region  of 
Naples  (see  map,  p.  245),  was  the  first  of  the  famous  Roman 
military  roads,  and  it  was  called  the  Via  Appia,  after  the  consul 
Appius  Claudius. 

Traflftc  with  the  Greek  ships  at  the  docks  at  length  forced 
the  Romans  to  begin  the  issue  of  copper  coins,  —  "  aes  "  they 
called  them,  —  and  in  their  bills  the  values  of  goods  were  given  in 
copper  coins ;  hence  our  word  "  estimate "  (Roman  "  aesiv 
mare  ").  But  transactions  soon  grew  too  large  for  such  small 
copper  change,  and  the  government  was  obliged  to  begin  the 
coinage  of  silver,  with  Attic  weights  as  a  basis  of  the  different- 
sized  coins.    Money  began  to  be  a  power  in  the  city. 

Heretofore  the  interests  of  the  farmer  had  been  supreme, 
and  his  settlement  on  conquered  land  had  dictated  the  govern- 
ment's policy  of  expansion.  The  farmer  looked  no  further  than 
the  shores  of  Italy.  But  the  transactions  of  the  Roman  mer- 
chant reached  out  beyond  those  shores,  especially  to  Sicily  and 
the  south.  Here  he  was  hampered  by  competition  from  Car- 
thage. While  his  foreign  interests  were  still  small  he  had  been 
willing  that  the  Senate  should  make  a  commercial  treaty  with 
Carthage,  agreeing  that  Rome  would  not  intrude  in  Sicily,  pro- 
vided that  Carthage  on  her  part  would  keep  aloof  from  Italy. 
Now,  however,  the  Roman  merchant  chafed  under  such  restric- 
tions ;  the  more  so  because  the  Greeks  of  Sicily  and  Italy 
(Fig.  74  and  cut,  p.  166)  had  as  usual  failed  to  unite,^  and  had 


1  Such  a  union  seemed  at  one  time  about  to  take  place  under  King  Pyrrhus 
of  Epirus  (on  the  Greek  mainland),  as  a  result  of  his  invasion  of  these  regions 
(280  B.C.).     Rome  herself  regarded  him  as  dangerous  to  her  power  in  Italy, 


The  Western  World  and  Rome  257 

thus  left  Sicily  more  than  ever  open  to  Carthaginian  control. 
The  resulting  supremacy  of  the  Carthaginian  merchants  in  Sicily 
was  a  source  of  aggravation  to  the  merchants  of  Rome. 

Carthage^  was  governed  by  an  aristocracy  of  wealthy  mer-  Carthage 
chants.  The  mercantile  instinct,  which  still  makes  their  race  a 
line  of  merchant  princes  at  the  present  day,  was  strong  in  the 
blood  of  the  Semitic  Carthaginians.  In  their  veins  flowed  the 
blood  of  those  hardy  desert  mariners  of  Arabia,  the  Semitic 
caravaneers  (p.  59)  who  had  made  the  market  places  of  Baby- 
lon the  center  of  ancient  eastern  trade  two  thousand  years 
before  Rome  ever  owned  a  ship  (p.  67).  The  fleets  of  their 
Phoenician  ancestors  had  coursed  the  Mediterranean  in  the  days 
when  the  Stone  Age  barbarians  of  Italy  were  eagerly  looking 
for  the  merchant  of  the  East  and  his  metal  implements  (p.  244). 
Now  Rome  had  gained  the  supremacy  in  Italy  only  to  find  that 
the  merchant  princes  of  Carthage  had  made  the  western  Medi- 
terranean a  Carthaginian  sea.  They  ruled  the  northern  coast 
of  Africa  from  the  frontiers  of  the  Greek  cit)^  of  Cyrene  west- 
ward to  the  Atlantic.  They  controlled  southern  Spain,  they  had 
absorbed  the  islands  of  the  west,  large  and  small,  including 
Sardinia  and  Corsica,  and  only  the  Greek  cities  of  Sicily  had 
prevented  them  from  appropriating  the  whole  of  this  island 
long  ago.  Thus  they  formed  the  extreme  left  or  western  wing 
of  the  great  Semitic  line  (Fig.  49).^  We  are  now  to  witness  the 
continuation  of  the  old  struggle  of  Semite  and  Indo-European, 
which  has  reached  its  final  phase  on  the  Semitic  left  wing, 
where  the  areas  of  Roman  and  Carthaginian  trade  have  over- 
lapped and  brought  on  the  contest. 


fought  him,  and,  although  at  first  defeated,  iyially  forced  him  to  retire  to  Epirus 
again.  This  new  failure  of  the  southern  Greeks  to  unite  was  of  course  another 
example  of  that  local  independence  of  which  we  have  seen  so  much  in  Hellas. 

1  The  student  should  here  reread  pp.  59-60,  67,  137-139. 

2  We  have  followed  Europe  and  Asia  in  a  long  struggle  for  the  possession 
of  the  eastern  Mediterranean ;  we  now  behold  Europe  and  Asia,  as  represented 
by  Carthage,  again  facing  each  other,  but  this  time  across  the  western  Mediter- 
ranean, for  the  control  of  which  they  are  fighting. 


258  Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 

Section  43.  The  Carthaginian  Wars 

The  Sicilian         The  Senate  needed  litde  persuasion  from  the  wealthy  mer- 
Carthage         chants  of  Rome  to  intervene  in  Sicilian  affairs,  as  the  Greeks 
completely  lost  control  in  Sicily.    The  inevitable  war^  saw  the 
Roman  legions  steadily  thrusting  back  the  Carthaginian  frontier 
in  Sicily  by  265  B.C.    Carthage,  as  a  wealthy  commercial  syndi- 
cate, having  no  agricultural  population  to  furnish  its  soldiers,  was 
forced  to  engage  its  troops  for  hire  from  abroad.    Such  troops 
were  no  match  for  the  Roman  legions,  and  the  Carthaginians 
steadily  lost  ground. 
The  Romans        One  great   advantage,   however,   enabled    them    to   defend 
fleet  themselves  in  a  last  stronghold  at  the  western  end  of  Sicily. 

They  were  masters  of  the  sea,  while  Rome  had  no  war  fleet. 
The  Senate,  like  Themistocles  in  Athens  (p.  170),  at  length  per- 
ceived the  difficulty.    The  forests  of  Italy  furnished  abundant 
raw  material,  and  Roman  builders  were  soon  able  to  master 
the  art  of  building  warships.    Gradually  the  new  Roman  fleet 
gained  experience,  and  the  outcome  was  the  complete  destruc- 
The  Sicilian     tion  of  Carthaginian  sea  power.    After  twenty-four  years  of 
the  defeat        fighting  Carthage  was  forced  to  make  peace,  leaving  Rome  in 
?2^TcT^     undisturbed  possession  of  all  Sicily  (241  B.C.).    For  the  first 
time  Rome  held  territory  outside  of  Italy,  an  epoch-making 
step  from  which  she  was  never  able  to  draw  back  —  a  step 
which  has  been  compared  with  the  act  of  the  United  States  in 
taking  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippines. 
Rome  de-  Peace  between  two  such  rivals  could  only  be  temporary,  for 

feats  the  ,  •  r  t-.  i    -i 

Gauls,  gains     the  Constant  expansion  of  Roman  power  was  a  daily  menace  to 

vaiie^^and       Carthage.    She  looked  in  vain  for  some  adversary  who  might 

rules  aliitaly  humble  her  proud  rival  on,  the  Tiber.    But  she  was  forced  to 

see  the  Roman  arms  again  triumphant  as  they  crushed   the 

Gauls  of  northern  Italy,  who  had  taken  possession  of  the  valley 

of  the  Po.    Thenceforth  the  entire  Italian  peninsula  to  the  foot 

1  Commonly  called  the  "  First  Punic  War."   "  Punic  "  is  a  Latin  form  of  the 
word  "  Phoenician,"  to  which  race  the  Carthaginians  belonged. 


The  Western  World  mid  Rome  259 

of  the  Alps  was  under  Roman  sovereignty.  There  were,  to  be 
sure,  many  cities  bound  to  Rome  only  by  treaty,  whose  citizens 
were  not  at  first  received  into  Roman  citizenship.  But  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  there  was  no  uniform  language  common  to  the 
Roman  citizens  and  the  allies  who  made  up  the  population  of 
the  peninsula,  a  national  feeling  arose  and  Italy  as  a  whole  was 
slowly  becoming  a  nation. 

In  defiance  of  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Carthage,  Rome  had   Rome  seizes 
no  hesitation  in  seizing  the  island  of  Sardinia,  a  Carthaginian  Carthaginian 
possession.    A  counter  move  by  Carthage  was  necessary.    While  ^^vance  m 
the  Roman  war  with  the  Gauls  was  going  on,  the  Carthaginians 
therefore  took  advantage  of  the  situation  to  seize  additional 
territory  in  southern  Spain.    Here  they  acquired  silver  mines 
of  immense  value,  and  at  the  same  time  the  native  population 
of  Spain  furnished  excellent  troops  for  the  Carthaginian  army. 
Thus  they  were  equipped  with  both  money  and  men  for  another 
war.    Nevertheless,  the  Carthaginian  merchants  had  not  for- 
gotten their  losses  in  the  Sicilian  war  and  had  no  desire  to 
repeat  the  experience. 

The  Roman  Senate,  however,  could  not  allow  all  Spain  to   Rome 
be  acquired  by  Carthage.    They  ordered  a  few  legions  to  cross   carthage  in 
the  Pyrenees  and  to  seize  northern  Spain  for  Rome  as  far  as   ^-Pg^^f'  ^^^ 
the  Ebro  River.    Here  a  young  Carthaginian  named  Hannibal,    Hannibal 
whose  father  had  been  the  soul  of  the  Carthaginian  defense  of 
Sicily,  now  organized  a  formidable  army.    He  intentionally  be- 
came involved  in  trouble  with   the   Romans  on   the   Spanish 
frontier  and  thus  forced  the  peace  party  at  home  into  war.^ 
He  was  but  twenty-four  years  of  age  when  he  began  his  Span- 
ish operations,  and  at  twenty-seven  he  was  beginning  a  plan  of 
campaign  of  such  boldness  and  genius  that  he  took  the  Romans 
completely  by  surprise. 

The  Senate  had  determined  to  carry  the  war  into  Africa  to   The  war  with 
the  very  walls  of  Carthage,  when  in  the  autumn  of  218  B.C.   he  invades 
Hannibal  suddenly  appeared  with  his  army  issuing  from  the 

1  Commonly  called  the  "  Second  Punic  War." 


Italy 


26o  0?itlines  of  European  History 

passes  on  the  Italian  slopes  of  the  Alps  and  taking  possession 
of  the  valley  of  the  Po.  This  unexpected  march  through  south- 
em  France,  over  the  Alps  and  into  Italy,  at  once  threw  Rome 
on  the  defensive.  The  army,  which  they  had  hurriedly  gotten 
together  to  meet  Hannibal  beyond  the  Alps,  had  been  cleverly 
evaded  by  that  general,  and  the  Roman  force  went  on  into 
Spain.  Then  this  young  commander  of  twenty-eight,  showing 
himself  a  master  of  military  science  (like  Napoleon,  who  at 
about  the  same  age  won  his  first  Italian  victories  in  this  very 
region),  at  once  advanced  with  his  Spanish  veterans  and  many 
Gauls  and  defeated  one  Roman  army  after  another. 
Hannibal's  Pushing  far  southward  into  the  old  territory  of  the  Greek 

ear  y  victories  ^^j^j^^  q£  Italy,  Hannibal  succeeded  in  detaching  many  of  the 
southern  cities  from  their  alliance  with  Rome,  and  finally  all 
Sicily  went  over  to  his  cause.  But  the  nucleus  of  the  states  in 
central  Italy,  which  Rome  had  gathered  about  her  and  linked 
to  herself  by  bonds  of  citizenship,  could  not  be  detached.  They 
Stability  stood  fast.    Meantime  Carthage  was  unable  to  send  reenforce- 

ments  to  its  army  in  Italy,  for  the  Romans  commanded  the  sea 
with  their  fleet.  After  the  first  defeats  the  Senate  was  more  care- 
ful in  picking  its  commanders,  and  these  new  men  were  more 
successful.  Among  them  it  was  now  especially  Fabius,  who 
made  himself  famous  by  a  policy  of  defensive  waiting  and 
avoiding  battle  with  the  clever  Hannibal,  foreseeing  that  the 
Carthaginian  forces,  if  not  reenforced  from  home,  must  slowly 
melt  away.  j 

Hannibal  Hannibal  sent  to  Macedonia  urging  alliance  and  seeking  aid, 

donian  aidt     ^^<^  there  was  a  futile  effort  to  respond.    Had  the  descendants 
the  East  fails   ^^  ^^  Macedonian  rulers  who  divided  Alexander's  empire  in 

to  intervene  ^ 

the  East  now  discerned  the  character  of  this  battle  of  giants 
which  was  going  on  in  Italy,  they  might  have  changed  the  history 
of  the  world.  For  this  struggle  of  the  Romans  with  Hannibal 
was  the  decisive  turning  point  in  the  history  of  the  ancient  world. 
Roman  victor}^  in  this  contest  meant  the  supremacy  of  Rome 
not    only    in    the    \^^estern    Mediterranean    but    in   the    whole 


The  Western  World  and  Rome 


261 


Mediterranean  world. ^  Meantime  the  Roman  forces  besieged 
and  slowly  recovered  the  unfaithful  cities  one  by  one,  until 
Sicily  was  in  their  hands  again. 

Hannibal's  brother  endeavors  to  push  in  with  reenforcements 
from  Spain,  where  he  has  been  obliged  to  leave  the  Romans  in 
possession.  But  he  is  intercepted,  defeated,  and  slain.  Finally, 
when  Hannibal  has  been  thirteen  years  in  Italy,  the  Senate 
organizes  an  expedition  against  Carthage  itself.  Not  even  the 
recall  of  Hannibal  to  Carthage  can  now  stay  the  victorious 
Romans,  and  in  202  B.C.  the  merchant  princes  of  Carthage  are 
compelled  to  accept  an  ignominious  peace.  Their  power  is 
forever  broken,  and  they  are  never  again  a  source  of  anxiety  to 
the  Roman  Senate.  Rome  thus  becomes  mistress  of  the  western 
Mediterranean,  and  her  power  so  far  exceeds  that  of  all  other 
states  that  the  rivalry  between  nations,  which  makes  up  so  large  a 
part  of  the  career  of  the  ancient  world,  is  soon  to  cease,  because 
there  is  no  one  who  dares  to  challenge  the  power  of  Rome. 

For  over  fifty  years  more  the  merchants  of  Carthage  w^ere 
permitted  to  traffic  in  the  western  Mediterranean,  and  then  the 
iron  hand  of  Rome  was  laid  upon  the  doomed  city  for  the  last 
time.  It  was  completely  destroyed,  and  the  only  formidable  rival 
of  Rome  in  the  West  disappeared  (146  b.c.).^ 


Western  aid 
fails  to  reach 
Hannibal 


Roman  vic- 
tory over 
Hannibal 
(202  B.C.) 


The  de- 
struction 
of  Carthage 
(146  B.C.) 


Section  44.    World  Dominion  and  Civil  War 

The  third  century  B.C.,  which  gave  to  Rome  the  naval  and  introduction 
military  supremacy  in  the  Mediterranean,  nevertheless  saw  Rome  eratunfand' 
herself  conquered  by  Greek  civilization.    Greek  slaves  and  cap-  civilization 

^  -^  ^       into  Rome 

tives  of  war  from  the  Greek  cities  in  Italy  and  Sicily,  now  ruled 
by  Rome,  begin  to  be  common  in  Roman  households.    Greek 


1  The  Egyptian  navy  of  the  Ptolemies  (p.  230),  after  a  centur)^  of  supremacy 
in  the  Mediterranean,  was  at  this  time  on  the  decline.  The  armies  of  the  Hellen- 
istic kings  also  were  declining.   They  were  no  match  for  those  of  Rome. 

2  As  the  result  of  a  three  years'  war,  commonly  called  the  "  Third  Punic  War." 
The  Semitic  /e/f  wing  was  thus  annihilated  by  the  western  end  of  the  Indo- 
European  line  (Fig.  49),  and  Europe  again  triumphed  over  Asia. 


262 


Outlines  of  European  History 


merchants  multiply  in  the  Roman  Forum  and  along  the  river 
front.  Amid  the  hum  of  voices  on  street  or  in  market  the  sound 
of  Greek  becomes  more  and  more  familiar  to  Roman  ears. 
Here  and  there  a  household  possesses  a  Greek  slave  of  educa- 
tion, and  the  parents  are  glad  to  have  their  children  follow  him 
about  the  house,  picking  up  verses  from  Homer,  or  sit  at  his 
elbow  learning  to  read. 

Among  the  Greek  slaves  from  southern  Italy  in  Rome  at 
this  time  is  a  young  man  named  Andronicus.  Just  after  the 
Sicilian  war  with  Carthage  he  is  given  his  liberty  by  his  lord, 
and  seeing  the  interest  of  the  Romans  in  Greek  literature,  he 
translates  the  Homeric  Odyssey  (p.  142)  into  Latin  as  a  school 
book  for  Roman  children.  For  their  elders  he  likewise  renders 
into  Latin  the  classic  tragedies  w^hich  we  have  seen  in  Athens 
(p.  190),  and  also  a  number  of  Attic  comedies  (p.  204).  These 
the  Romans  attend  with  great  delight  as  they  are  presented  on 
the  stage  at  the  various  feasts.  Thus  the  materials  and  the 
forms  of  Greek  literature  enter  Roman  life. 

To  be  sure,  the  Latins,  like  all  peasant  peoples,  have  had  their 
folk  songs  and  their  simple  forms  of  verse,  but  these  natural  prod- 
ucts of  the  soil  of  Latium  now  disappear  as  the  men  of  Latin 
speech  feel  the  influence  of  an  already  highly  finished  literature. 
Latin  literature,  therefore,  did  not  develop  along  its  own  lines 
from  native  beginnings,  as  did  Greek  literature,  but  it  grew  up 
on  the  basis  of  a  great  inheritance  from  abroad.  Indeed,  we 
now  see,  as  the  poet  Horace  said,  that  Rome,  the  conqueror,  was 
being  conquered  by  the  civilization  of  the  Greeks,  into  whose 
world  Roman  power  was  now  pushing  out.  For  books,  music, 
works  of  art,  architecture,  and  all  those  things  which  belong  to 
the  more  refined  and  the  higher  side  of  life,  the  Roman  was  at 
first  dependent  entirely  upon  the  Greek.  What  the  Romans  were 
furnishing  of  their  own  was  a  more  stable  and  powerful  organi- 
zation than  any  devised  by  the  Greeks. 

These  triumphs  of  Greek  civilization  in  Rome  were  being 
achieved  at  the  very  time  when  Roman  political  and  military 


The  Western  World  and  Rome  263 

power  was  laying  a  heavy  hand  on  the  old  Greek  cities  and  the   Rome  ad- 
entire  Hellenistic  world  of  the  eastern  Mediterranean.    Imme-   Macedonia, 
diately  after  the  close  of  the  war  with  Hannibal  the  Senate   Greece,  and 

-'  ,  ,  Asia 

determined  to  punish  Macedonia  for  its  attempt  to  support 
Hannibal  (p.  260).  At  last  the  long-irresistible  phalanx  of  the 
Greeks  was  confronted  by  the  Roman  legion.  Before  the  vic- 
torious legion  Macedonia  and  Greece  fell  under  Roman  control, 
though  the  Roman  Senate  proclaimed  the  Greek  cities  free. 
The  object  of  Rome  was  not  the  conquest  of  the  East,  but  such 
a  control  of  the  eastern  states  as  would  prevent  the  rise  of  a 
great  power  dangerous  to  Rome. 

Such  a  control,  however,  unavoidably  developed  into  more,  and 
finally  became  Roman  sovereignty.  When  the  Seleucids  (p.  230) 
interfered  in  Greek  affairs  a  Roman  army  marched  for  the  first 
tim^e  into  Asia,  and  the  Seleucid  army  received  a  crushing  defeat. 
The  last  great  powder  that  confronted  Rome  was  thus  perma- 
nently crippled,  and,  although  they  did  not  yet  take  possession  of 
it  all,  the  Romans  were  masters  of  the  civilized  w^orld  (190  B.C.). 
A  generation  later  the  helpless  Greeks  were  given  a  vivid  exam- 
ple of  what  revolt  would  bring  upon  them,  as  they  beheld  the 
Roman  destruction  of  Corinth  in  the  same  year  (146  B.C.)  which 
saw  the  annihilation  of  Carthage. 

The  Rome  which  thus  gained  the  dominion  of  the  world  had   Rise  of  large 
hitherto  been  a  republic  of  farmers,  led  by  a  body  of  aristocrats   great  pro- 
making  up  the  majority  of  the  Roman  Senate.    The  long  wars  P^ietors 
and  the  resulting  vast  conquests  inevitably  produced  great  changes 
as  the  wealth  of  the  conquered  states  flowed  into  the  Roman 
treasury,  and  Roman  officials  were  enriched  at  the  expense  of 
the  provinces.    In  these  changes  the  farmer  was  the  sufferer. 
He  had  kept  his  post  in  the  legion  for  years,  in  Spain,  in  Africa, 
in  Macedonia,  or  in  Italy  facing  Hannibal.    There  had  been 
no  one  to  work  his  lands  in  his  absence.    When  he  returned 
he  found  that  his  neighbors  all  around  him  had  disappeared, 
and  their  lands  had  been  bought  up  by  the  wealthy  men  of 
Rome,  who  had  combined  them  into  huge  estates. 


264 


Outlines  of  European  Histo?y 


Increase  of 
slavery ;  de- 
cay of  the 
agricultural 
class 


Increase  of 
poverty  and 
the  landless 
class 


Splendor  and 
growing  cul- 
ture of  Rome 


Growing  hos- 
tility between 
Senate  and 
people 


These  lands  were  now  being  worked  by  slaves,  the  captives, 
of  whom  the  Romans  had  taken  great  numbers  in  their  wars. 
Such  captives  of  war  were  usually  sold  into  slavery.  Pirates 
now  in  control  of  the  eastern  Mediterranean  also  brought  in 
multitudes  of  captives,  whom  they  sold  as  slaves  to  wealthy 
buyers.  As  a  result  great  hosts  of  such  slaves  were  working 
the  lands  of  Italy,  and  a  single  large  landholder  might  possess 
thousands  of  them.  The  farmer  is  unable'  to  compete  with  slave 
labor ;  he  falls  into  debt,  loses  his  scanty  lands,  and  goes  up  to 
the  city.  On  the  way  thither  he  finds  all  Italy  stripped  of  its 
hardy  farmers  by  the  wars,  and  their  lands  in  the  possession  of 
Roman  capitalists,  who  have  equipped  them  with  foreign  slaves. 
He  finds  the  city  filled  with  a  great  multitude  of  former  citizens, 
now  penniless  like  himself,  who  have  lost  their  citizenship  with 
their  property.    All  Italy  is  thus  seething  with  discontent. 

What  matters  it  to  the  landless  peasant  who  has  fought  the 
battles  of  Rome  and  won  her  dominion  over  the  whole  civilized 
world  —  what  matters  it  to  him  that  the  city  is  now  being 
adorned  with  splendid  public  buildings,  such  as  have  never  been 
seen  in  the  West  before,  outside  of  the  Greek  "cities.  He  sees 
the  gardens  and  villas  of  the  rich  filled  with  sculpture  from  the 
cities  of  Hellas  and  Asia;  he  sees  a  network  of  new  military 
roads  spreading  in  all  directions  from  the  city;  he  finds  the 
houses  of  the  Roman  nobles  in  the  city  filled  with  foreign 
slaves ;  he  hears  his  old  commanders  speaking  Greek  and  sees 
them  reading  Greek  books  ;  he  knows  that  they  send  their  sons 
to  Athens  to  receive  a  Greek  education. 

He  knows,  moreover,  that  while  these .  Roman  lords  are 
drinking  thus  deeply  at  the  fountains  of  Greek  life,  they  are 
likewise  appropriating  the  wealth  of  all  this  great  world,  where 
Greek  culture  is  everywhere.  This  wealth  and  the  leadership 
of  the  vast  dominions  that  contribute  it,  have  made  the  Roman 
Senate  powerful  beyond  the  uttermost  dreams  of  the  fathers 
of  old,  and  in  this  new  power  and  wealth  the  Roman  multitude 
have  no  share.   What  is  worse  they- have  lost  their  own  property 


The  Western  World  and  Rome  265 

at  home.  To  be  sure  many  of  them  have  no  higher  desire  than 
the  opportunity  of  plundering  the  provinces  themselves,  but  the 
landless  condition  of  Rome's  citizen-soldiers  is  destroying  the 
very  foundation  of  Roman  power. 

Two  men  of  the  noble  class,  Tiberius  Gracchus  and  his  Reforms  of 
brother  Gains,  patriots  with  the  welfare  of  the  State  in  view,  ^nd  civil  war 
now  (133-122  B.C.)  endeavored  to  better  the  situation  by  laws 
which  would  redistribute  the  lands  among  the  citizens  and 
weaken  the  power  of  the  selfish  aristocrats  in  the  Senate.  Both 
men  lost  their  lives  in  the  struggle.  The  proud  and  powerful 
Senate  was  no  longer  willing  to  make  concessions  to  the  people 
as  of  old.  A  revolution  began,  with  intermittent  civil  war  which 
lasted  for  a  century  (ending  31  B.C.)  (p.  273).  As  it  went  on,  and 
the  legions  were  turned  against  each  other,  some  of  the  greatest 
battles  in  the  histor}^  of  the  ancient  world  were  fought  between 
Roman  armies.  At  the  same  time  multitudes  of  slaves  seized 
arms  and  terrorized  southern  Italy  and  Sicily  for  years. 

As  we  watch  the  further  course  of  this  century  of  civil  war,   Roman  insti- 
we  see  that  the  statesman  in  the  Senate  more  than  once  found   to  military 
himself  confronted  by  the  general  from  the  field  backed  by  P^^er 
Roman  legions.    Such  a  commander  with  a  loyal  army  behind 
him  could   force  Rome  to  elect  him  dictator.    He  might  not 
abolish  the  institutions  and  the  outward  forms  of  the  republic, 
but  he  controlled   the    State  like  an  absolute  monarch.    He 
crushed  his  enemies,  he  appropriated  their  property,  and  the 
streets  of  the  city  were  stained  with  the  blood  of  her  own 
citizens.    Military  power  was  undermining  Roman  institutions. 

Such  were  the  methods  of  Marius  and  Sulla  —  Marius  on  be-  Marius  and 
half  of  the  people  and  redistribution  of  lands  ;  Sulla  in  defense 
of  the  Senate  and  the  wealthy  of  Rome  (81-79  ^-C-)-  Sulla  and 
the  Senate  triumphed,  though  Rome  was  compelled  to  grant 
citizenship  to  the  rebellious  Italian  cities.  At  Sulla's  death  the 
struggle  broke  out  anew.  More  than  one  man  plotted  for  the 
complete  overthrow  of  the  Republic,  and  the  gifted  orator  and 
literary  man  Cicero,  elected  consul  in  63  B.C.,  saved  the  State 


>66 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Rise  of 
Julius  Caesar 


Caesar  con- 
quers Gaul 
(58-50  B.C.) 


from  seizure,  and  Rome,  as  he  claimed,  from  fire  and  sword,  at 
the  hands  of  the  notorious  Catiline  and  his  associates.  But  the 
aims  of  such  lawless  leaders  as  Catiline  may  perhaps  have  been 
more  laudable  service  on  behalf  of  the  people  than  the  famous 
speeches  of  Cicero  would  lead  us  to  believe. 

Thus  military  leadership  became  the  controlling  power  in  the 
Roman  world,  and  it  was  evident  to  the  practical  statesman 

that  the  old  machinery  of  the 
Republic  could  never  again  re- 
store order  and  stable  govern- 
ment in  Italy.  The  situation 
absolutely  demanded  an  able 
and  patriotic  military  com- 
mander with  an  army  behind 
him,  who  should  make  him- 
self undisputed  and  permanent 
master  of  Italy.  Convinced  of 
this,  the  young  patrician  poli- 
tician Julius  Caesar  (Fig.  no), 
steadily  aiming  to  gather  the 
reins  of  power  in  his  own 
hands,  adopted  the  cause  of 
the  people  against  the  Senate. 
Rising  through  the  consulship, 
he  secured  appointment  as 
governor  of  Gaul,  the  ancient 
region  corresponding  to  mod- 
ern France  (58  B.C.).  This  gave  him  the  desired  militaiy  op- 
portunity. He  organized  a  powerful  army,  and  in  the  use  of 
it  he  displayed  a  military  skill  which  placed  him  among  the 
world's  greatest  masters  of  the  art  of  war. 

In  eight  years  of  march  and  battle  he  subdued  the  Gauls 
and  conquered  their  territory  from  the  ocean  and  the  English 
Channel  eastward  to  the  Rhine.  He  even  crossed  the  Channel 
and  landed   in   Britain.     He  added  a  vast  dominion  to  the 


Fig.  1 10.   Bust  said  to  be  a 
Portrait  of  Julius  C^sar 

The  ancient  portraits   commonly 

accepted  as  those  of  Julius  Caesar 

are  really  of  uncertain  identity 


The  Western  World  and  Rome  267 

territory  of  Rome,  and  we  should  not  forget  that  his  conquests 
brought  Latin  into  France,  as  the  ancestor  from  which  French 
speech  has  descended.  In  the  midst  of  these  great  operations 
Caesar  nevertheless  found  time  to  write  the  story  of  his  con- 
quest of  Gaul.  The  tale  is  narrated  with  the  most  unpretentious 
simplicity,  but  it  was  intended  to  convey  to  the  Roman  people 
an  indelible  impression  of  the  services  which  they  owed  to  their 
governor  in  Gaul.    It  did  not  fail  of  its  purpose. 

When  Caesar's  term  as  governor  of  Gaul  expired  and  the   Caesar  leads 
Senatorial  party  prevented  his  reelection  as  consul,  the  victori-   iJaly^^gB-"-) 
ous  general  was  at  no  loss  what  to  do.    The  veterans  of  his 
Gallic  campaigns  were  devoted  to  him,  and  they  followed  him 
into  Italy  without  hesitation.    There  was  no  army  south  of  the 
Alps  capable  of  meeting  them  in  battle.    Pompey,  the  other 
leading  commander  of  the  time,  once  a  political  colleague  of 
Caesar  and  enemy  of  the  Senate,  had  now  adopted  the  cause 
of  the  Senatorial  party.    Crossing  to  Greece  with  his  army,  in  Caesar  de- 
order  to  gain  time  and  to  give  his  troops  the  needed  organiza-  at  Pharsalus 
tion,  Pompey  was  at  length  confronted  by  Caesar  at  Pharsalus  •  ^-^^  ^•^•^ 
in   Thessaly.     Roman   again   met    Roman,   but   the   seasoned 
veterans  of  the  Gallic  wars,  led  by  the  greatest  commander 
of  the  age,  inevitably  drove  their  countr^^men  from  the  field. 
From   this  day  (Aug.   9,   48   B.C.)  the  Roman  Republic  was 
doomed,  and  the  rule  of  a  military  leader  was  inevitable. 

Pompey,  fleeing  to  Egypt,  was  murdered  there.  The  beautiful  Caesar  makes 
Cleopatra,  the  last  of  the  Ptolemies  (p.  230),  found  that  her  the  Medi- 
charms  and  the  political  advantages  of  her  friendship  met  a 
ready  response  on  the  part  of  the  victorious  Caesar  as  he  dis- 
embarked and  entered  the  oldest  seat  of  civilization  on  the 
Mediterranean.  In  a  single  battle  he  gained  Asia  Minor  and 
then  turned  his  attention  to  the  far  west.  The  subjugation  of 
the  African  province  behind  Carthage  and  serious  opposition  in 
Spain  formed  the  only  obstacles  to  Caesar's  complete  control 
of  the  empire  of  the  world.  These  troubles  were  all  disposed  of 
by  March,  45  b.c. 


terranean 


268 


Outlines  of  Emvpean  History 


Caesar  sole 
master  of 
Rome 


The  assassi- 
nation of 
Caesar 


There  was  now  no  one  in  Rome  to  gainsay  this  mightiest  of 
the  Romans.  He  made  no  attempt  to  abolish  the  outward  forms 
of  the  Republic.  For  this  he  was  too  wise.  He  caused  himself 
to  be  appointed  Dictator  for  life,  consul  for  ten  years,  and  gath- 
ered the  powers  of  all  other  important  offices  into  his  hands. 
He  filled  the  Senate  with  his  own  supporters  and  appointees 
till  it  was  ready  at  any  time  to  do  his  bidding.  He  began  exten- 
sive reforms  of  the  corrupt  Roman  administration.  He  put  an 
end  to  centuries  of  vexation  with  the  Graeco-Roman  moon 
calendar  (p.  193)  by  introducing  the  practical  Eg}^ptian  calendar 
(p.  23),  which  we  are  all  still  using.-^  Divine  honors  were  now  paid 
to  this  tremendous  Roman  who  had  lifted  himself  to  the  throne 
of  the  world.  He  planned  far-reaching  conquests  into  new  lands 
beyond  the  frontiers,  like  the  subjugation  of  the  Germans  be- 
yond the  Rhine.  Had  he  carried  out  these  plans,  the  language 
of  the  Germans  to-day  would  be  a  descendant  of  Latin,  like  the 
speech  of  the  French  and  the  Spanish. 

But  there  were  still  men  in  Rome  who  were  not  ready  to 
submit  to  the  rule  of  one  man.  On  the  fifteenth  of  March, 
44  B.C.,  only  a  year  after  C^sar  had  quelled  the  last  disturbance 
in  Spain,  these  men  struck  down  the  greatest  of  the  Romans. 
If  some  of  his  murderers  fancied  themselves  patriots  overthrow- 
ing a  tyrant,  they  little  understood  how  vain  were  all  such  efforts 
to  restore  the  ancient  Republic.  World  dominion  and  its  mili- 
tary power  had  forever  demolished  the  Roman  Republic,  and 
the  murder  of  Caesar  again  plunged  Italy  and  the  Empire  into 
civil  war. 


QUESTIONS 

Section  40.  Define  the  western  Mediterranean  world.  Discuss 
the  geography  and  climate  of  Italy.  Did  the  peoples  of  the  Late 
Stone  Age  in  the  West  advance  in  civilization  as  fast  as  the  .i^gean 
people .?    Do  you  think  their  distance  from  the  Orient  had  anything 

1  Unfortunately  the  Romans  altered  the  convenient  Egyptian  calendar  with 
its  twelve  thirty-day  months  and  five  holidays  at  the  end ;  hence  the  varying 
length  of  our  months. 


The  Western  World  and  Rome  269 

to  do  with  this?  What  early  movement  can  we  discern  in  north 
Italy?  What  happened  in  the  Po  valley?  What  westerners  appeared 
as  mercenaries  in  thirteenth-century  Egypt  (Fig.  106)? 

Give  an  account  of  the  Etruscans.  What  civilization  did  they  ab- 
sorb? Whence  came  the  Indo-European  tribes  of  Italy?  Did  they 
possess  a  common  language  like  the  Greeks  or  were  their  tribes 
unable  to  understand  each  other? 

Section  41.  Give  an  account  of  the  Latins  and  their  plain  of 
Latium.  Describe  the  probable  causes  and  course  of  the  foundation 
of  Rome.  Who  were  its  foreign  kings?  What  happened  to  them? 
What  foreign  traffic  went  on  at  the  Roman  docks?  What  Greek 
matters  passed  into  Roman  life  here?  Discuss  Roman  religion. 
Mention  the  Greek  influences  noticeable  in  Roman  religion.  What 
Etruscan  practice  was  found  in  Roman  religion  ? 

What  was  the  prevailing  character  of  Roman  religion  ?  What  kind 
of  a  state  emerged  when  the  Romans  had  expelled  the  kings?  How 
does  it  compare  with  the  Greek  states  ?  How  does  it  contrast  with 
the  oriental  states  ?  What  do  we  mean  when  we  call  Rome  an  aristo- 
cratic republic?  Who  were  the  consuls?  the  tribunes?  What  was 
the  Senate  ?  the  Assembly  ? 

Section  42.  Describe  the  Latin  League  and  its  origin.  What 
was  the  Roman  policy  as  to  expansion  ?  Outline  the  course  of  Roman 
absorption  of  Italy.  Describe  the  growth  of  the  city.  Discuss  its 
commercial  expansion.  What  troublesome  competitor  did  the  Roman 
merchant  find  in  the  south  ? 

W^hat  position  in  this  competition  was  occupied  by  the  Greek 
cities  of  Sicily  and  southern  Italy?  Sketch  the  story  of  early  Car- 
thage.   What  racial  situation  did  Rome  and  Carthage  illustrate  ? 

Section  43.  Sketch  the  Sicilian  war  with  Carthage.  What  was 
the  result?  Sketch  the  war  with  Hannibal.  Who  should  have  en- 
deavored to  interfere  at  this  point?  What  was  the  result  of  this 
war?  Where  did  these  campaigns  place  Rome?  What  finally 
happened  to  Carthage? 

Section  44.  Describe  the  introduction  of  Greek  literature  into 
Rome.  What  schoolbook  did  the  Roman  boy  now  gain?  What  lit- 
erature did  his  parents  receive?  What  civilization  underlay  Roman 
progress  ?  Give  some  examples.  Describe  the  advance  of  Rome  into 
Macedonia  and  Asia.  Describe  the  decline  of  the  independent  farm- 
ers of  Italy.  What  part  had  slavery  in  the  situation  ?  How  did  men 
of  wealth  influence  the  situation  ? 


2/0 


Outlines  of  Eu7'opcaii  History 


What  happened  to  the  peasant  farmer?  Who  now  ruled?  Tell 
the  story  of  the  Gracchi.  Describe  the  resulting  civil  war  and  the 
methods  of  Marius  and  Sulla.  Could  the  Republic  survive  after  the 
introduction  of  such  methods?  Narrate  the  early  career  of  Julius 
Caesar.  Who  was  his  most  dangerous  opponent?  What  was  the 
result  of  their  rivalry?  What  was  Caesar's  aim?  What  were  the 
consequences  of  his  murder? 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  TO  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Section  45.  The  Reign  of  Augustus 

The  death  of  Alexander  the  Great  interrupted  in  mid-career   Far-reaching 
the  conquest  of  a  world  empire  stretching  from  the  frontiers  of  of^cSaS^^^ 
India  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.    The  bloody  deed  of  the  Ides  of  ^f  ^i^i^J^het 
March,  44  B.C.,  stopped  a  similar  conquest  by  Julius  Caesar —   Octavian 
a  conquest  which  would  have  subjected  Orient  and  Occident  to 
the  rule  of  a  single  sovereign.    A  like  opportunity  never  rose 
again,  and  Caesar's  successor  had  no  such  aims.    Over  in  Illyria 
the  terrible  news  from  Rome  found  the  murdered  statesman's 
grand-nephew  Octavian  (Fig.  iii),  a  youth  of  eighteen,  quietly 
pursuing  his  studies.    His  mother's  letter  brought  by  a  secret 
messenger  bade  him  flee  far  away  eastward  without  delay,  in 
order  to  escape  all  danger  at  the  hands  of  his  uncle's  murderers. 
The  youth's  reply  was  to  proceed  without  a  moment's  hesitation 
to  Rome.    This  statesmanlike  decision  of  character  reveals  the 
quality  of  the  young  man  both  as  he  then  showed  it  and  for 
years  to  follow. 

On  his  arrival  in  Rome  Octavian  learned  that  he  had  been  Early  career 
legally  adopted  by  Caesar  and  also  made  his  sole  heir.  His  bold 
claim  to  his  legal  rights  was  met  with  refusal  by  Mark  Antony, 
who  had  taken  possession  of  Caesar's  fortune  and  gained  elec- 
tion to  the  consulship.  By  such  men  Octavian  was  treated  with 
patronizing  indulgence  at  first  —  a  fact  to  which  he  owed  his 
life.  He  was  too  young  to  be  regarded  as  dangerous.  But  his 
young  shoulders  carried  a  very  old  head.  He  slowly  gathered 
the  threads  of  the  tangled  situation  in  his  clever  fingers,  not 
forgetting  the  lessons  of  his  adoptive  father's  career.    The  most 

271 


2/2 


Ontlijies  of  European  History 


Octavian 
gains  Italy 
and  the  West 


Octavian 
overthrows 
Antony  and 
gains  the 
East  (31  B.C.) 


obvious  lesson  was  the  necessity  of  military  power.  He  therefore 
rallied  a  force  of  Caesar's  veterans,  and  two  legions  of  Antony's 
troops  also  came  over  to  him.  Then  playing  the  game  of  politics, 
with  military  power  at  his  back  and  with  none  too  scrupulous  a 
conscience,  he  showed  himself  a  statesman  no  longer  to  be  ignored. 
Thus  the  death  of  Caesar  reopened  the  long  and  weary  civil 
war.  Year  after  year  Octavian  met  the  difficulties  of  his  situa- 
tion with  an  ever  surer  hand  as  his  experience  increased.    One 

after  another  his  rivals  and  op- 
ponents were  overcome,  and 
the  murderers  of  his  adoptive 
father  were  punished.  Within 
ten  years  after  Caesar's  assas- 
sination this  youth  of  twenty- 
eight  had  gained  complete  con- 
trol of  Italy  and  the  West. 

Meantime  he  had  early  been 
obliged  to  enter  a  political  alli- 
ance with  his  most  serious 
rival,  Antony,  who  was  now 
living  in  Alexandria,  where  he 
ruled  the  East  as  far  as  the 
Euphrates  like  an  oriental  sov- 
ereign. With  Cleopatra  as  his 
queen,  Antony  maintained  a 
court  of  sumptuous  splendor 
like  that  of  the  Persian  kings 
in  the  days  of  their  Empire. 
The  tales  of  all  this  made  their  way  to  Rome  and  did  not  help 
Antony's  cause  in  the  eyes  of  the  Roman  Senate.  Octavian  easily 
induced  the  Senate  for  this  and  other  reasons  to  declare  war  on 
Cleopatra,  and  thus  he  was  able  to  advance  against  Antony.  As 
the  legions  of  Caesar  and  Pompey,  representing  the  East  and  the 
West,  had  once  before  faced  each  other  on  a  batde  field  in  Greece 
(p.  267),  so  now  Octavian  and  Antony,  the  leaders  of  the  East 


Fig.  III.    PoRTRArr  of  Augus- 
tus, NOW  IN  THE  Boston  Mu- 
seum OF  Fine  Arts 


Fig.  112,    Conflict  between  Gods  and  Giants 


A  monument  of  Hellenistic  art  —  part  of  the  great  frieze  around  the  colossal 

altar  of  Zeus  at  Pergamum  (Fig.  loi).    A  giant  at  the  left,  whose  limbs  end 

in  serpents,  raises  over  his  head  a  great  stoneio  hurl  it  at  the  goddess  on  the 

right.    Note  the  vigorous  action  evident  in  the  agitation  of  her  drapery 


Fig.  113.    The  Roman  Forum  and  its  Public  Buildings  in 
THE  Early  Empire.  (After  Luckenbach) 

Below,  at  the  left,  is  the  tiny  circular  temple  of  Vesta,  with  its  never- 
quenched  sacred  fire  (p.  251);  just  beyond  it  is  the  triumphal  arch  (like 
Fig.  124)  of  Augustus,  through  which  one  gains  access  to  the  Forum  be- 
yond. The  large  building  on«the  left,  with  a  row  of  triumphal  columns  in 
front,  is  the  Basilica  of  Julius  Caesar;  note  the  clerestory  windows  in  the 
roof  and  compare  Fig.  28.  At  the  further  end  of  the  Forum,  beside  a, 
triumphal  arch,  is  the  rostrum,  or  speakers'  platform,  where  the  orator 
stood  in  addressing  the  Roman  people.  Behind  the  rising  group  of 
temples  beyond,  is  the  Capitol  hill  crowned  by  the  temple  of  Jupiter 


The  Ro)}ian  Euipirc  to  the  TiiunipJi  of  CJiristianity     273 

and  the  ^^^est,  met  at  Actiiim  on  the  west  coast  of  Greece.  The 
battle  was  fought  both  by  land  and  by  sea,  and  the  outcome  was 
a  sweeping  victory  for  the  heir  of  Caesar.  Antony  and  Cleopatra 
took  their  own  lives. 

To  the  West,  which  he  already  controlled,  Octavian  now  added   close  of  a 
also  the  East.    Thus  at  last  the  unity  of  the  Roman  dominions   ch^l"Sr*and 
was  restored  and  an  entire  century  of  civil  war,  which  had  begun   ""^°"  ^\. 

■'  °  the  Medi- 

in  the  days  of  the  Gracchi,  was  ended  (31  B.C.).    The  next  year  terranean 

^  .       \        ,     ,  .    '  .  1  .  ,  ,  ^  .  world  under 

Octavian  landed  m  Egypt  without  resistance  and  took  possession   Octavian 
of  the  ancient  land,  as  the  successor  of  Cleopatra,  the  last  of  the 
Ptolemies.    The  lands  under  his  control  girdled  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  the  entire  ^Mediterranean  world  was  under  the  power 
of  a  single  ruler. 

When  Octavian  returned  to  Italy  he  was  received  with  the  Octavian's 
greatest  enthusiasm.  A  veritable  hymn  of  thanksgiving  arose  po^iicy"^^  ^ 
among  all  classes  at  the  termination  of  a  century  of  civil  war 
and  devastation.  With  few  exceptions,  all  now  felt  also  that  the 
supremacy  of  an  individual  ruler  was  necessary  for  the  control 
of  the  vast  Roman  dominions.  It  would  have  been  easy  for 
Octavian  to  make  himself  absolute  monarch  as  his  adoptive 
father  was  doing  when  the  dagger  cut  short  his  plans.  But 
Octavian  was  a  man  of  qualities  totally  different  from  those  of 
Caesar.  On  the  one  hand,  he  was  not  trained  as  a  soldier  and 
had  no  desire  for  a  career  of  military  conquest ;  on  the  other 
hand,  he  felt  a  sincere  respect  for  the  institutions  of  the  Roman 
Republic  and  did  not  wish  to  destroy  them  nor  to  gain  for  him- 
self the  throne  of  an  oriental  sovereign.  During  his  struggle 
for  the  master)^  heretofore  he  had  preserved  the  forms  of  the 
Republic  and  had  been  duly  elected  to  his  position  of  power. 

On  returning  to  Rome,  therefore,  Octavian  did  not  disturb  the   Organization 
Senate,  but  did  much  to  strengthen  it  and  improve  its  member-   <;j.ate  bv 
ship.   Indeed,  he  voluntarily  handed  over  his  powers  to  the  Senate   Octavian 
in  January,   27  B.C.    The  Senate  thereupon,  realizing  by  past 
experience  that  it  did  not  possess  the  ability  nor  the  organiza- 
tion for  ruling  the  great  Roman  world  successfully,  gave  him 


274 


Outlines  of  Ejuvpcan  History 


officially  the  command  of  the  army  and  the  control  of  the  leading 
frontier  provinces.  At  the  same  time  they  conferred  upon  him 
the  title  of  "Augustus,"  that  is,  "the  august/'  He  had  many 
other  important  powers,  and  the  chief  name  of  his  office  was 
"  Princeps,'"  that  is,  "  the  First,""  meaning  the  first  of  the  citizens. 
Another  title  given  the  head  of  the  Roman  Empire  was  an  old 
word  for  director  or  commander,  namely  '*  Imperator,"  from 
which  our  word  "  Emperor "'  is  derived.^  Augustus,  as  we  may 
now  call  him,  regarded  his  position  as  that  of  an  official  of  the 
Roman  Republic,  to  which  he  was  appointed  by  the  Senate 
representing  the  government  of  the  Republic.^  Indeed,  his  ap- 
pointment was  not  permanent,  but  for  a  term  of  years,  after 
w^hich  he  was  reappointed. 

The  Roman  Empire  which  here  emerges  was  thus  under  a 
dual  government  of  the  Senate  and  of  the  Princeps,  whom  we 
commonly  call  the  Emperor.  \M-iile  Augustus  devised  no  legally 
established  method  for  electing  his  successors  and  continuing 
the  office,  there  was  little  danger  that  the  position  of  Emperor 
would  lapse.  This  dual  state  in  which  Augustus  endeavored  to 
preserve  the  old  Republic  was  not  well  balanced.  The  Princeps 
held  too  much  power  to  remain  a  mere  appointive  official.  His 
powers  were  more  than  once  increased  by  the  Senate  during 
the  life  of  Augustus ;  not  on  his  demand,  for  he  always  showed 
the  Senate  the  most  ceremonious  respect,  but  because  the 
Senate  could  not  dispense  with  his   assistance.  , 

Furthermore,  the  old  powers  of  the  Senate  could  not  be  main- 
tained reign  after  reign,  when  the  Senate  controlled  no  army. 
This  was  an  obvious  fact  already  discerned  by  Caesar,  who  made 
no  pretext  of  preserving  the  mere  appearance  of  senatorial 
power.  The  legions  were  behind  the  Princeps,  and  the  so-called 
republican  State  created  by  Augustus  tended  to  become  a  mili- 
tary monarchy,  as  we  shall  see.    All  the  influences  from  the 

1  The  German  and  Russian  words  for  Emperor,  "Kaiser"  and  "Czar,"  are 
derived  from  "  Caesar." 

2  The  citizens,  or  the  Assembly,  seem  to  have  had  no  voice  in  the  creation  of 
the  office  of  princeps  and  its  powers,  though  some  scholars  think  otherwise. 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  Triumph  of  Christianity     275 

Orient  were  in  the  same  direction.    Eg}-pt  was  in  no  way  con-   influences  of 
trolled  by  the  Senate,  but  remained  a  private  domain  of  the  th?EasT^ 
Emperor.    In  this  the  oldest  State  on  the  Mediterranean  the  J^^^^^^j^ 
Emperor  was  king,  in  the  oriental  sense.    He  collected  its  huge 
revenues  and  ruled  there  as  the  Pharaohs  had  done.    His  posi- 
tion as  absolute  monarch  in  Eg}'pt  influenced  his  position  as 
Emperor  and  his  methods  of  government  everj^vhere.    Indeed, 
the  East  as   a   whole  could  only  understand  the  position  of 


Fig.  114.   Restoration  of  the  Roman  Fortified  Wall  on 
THE  German  Frontier 

This  masonr}'  wall,  some  three  hundred  miles  long,  protected  the  north- 
ern boundary  of  the  Roman  Empire  between  the  upper  Rhine  and  the 
upper  Danube,  where  it  was  most  exposed  to  German  attack.  At  short 
inter\-als  there  were  blockhouses  along  the  wall,  and  at  points  of  great 
danger  strongholds  and  barracks  (Fig.  125)  for  the  shelter  of  garrisons 


Augustus  as  that  of  a  king,  and  this  title  they  at  once  appHed 
to  him.    This  also  had  its  influence  in  the  ^^'est. 

The  Empire  which  Rome  now  ruled  consisted  of  the  entire   Peace  policy 

,   r        -I  •  ,    ,  r     .  r  T  .         ,  Of  AugUStUS 

^Nlediten-anean  world,  or  a  fringe  of  states  extendmg  entirely 
around  the  Mediterranean  and  including  all  its  shores.^  There 
was  a  natural  boundar}-  in  the  south,  the  Sahara,  and  also  in  the 
west,  the  Atlantic :  but  on  the  north  and  east  further  conquests 

1  On  the  extent  of  the  Mediterranean,  see  p.  in. 


276 


Outlines  of  European  Histojy 


The  army 


Great  diver- 
sity of  races 
included  in 
the  Empire 


might  be  made.  Augustus  adopted  the  policy  of  organizing 
and  consolidating  the  Empire  as  he  found  it,  without  mak- 
ing further  conquests.  In  the  east  his  boundary  thus  became 
the  Euphrates,  and  in  the  north  the  Danube  and  the  Rhine. 
The  angle  made  by  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube  was  not  a  favor- 
able one  for  defense  of  the  border  (Fig.  1 1 4),  and  an  effort  was 
later  made  to  push  forward  to  the  Elbe  (see  map  of  Roman 
Empire) ;  but  the  Roman  army  was  disastrously  defeated  by 
the  barbarous  German  tribes  and  the  attempt  was  abandoned. 
Thus  the  bulk  of  what  we  now  call  Germany  never  was  con- 
quered by  the  Romans,  and  the  speech  of  the  German  tribes  was 
not  Latinized  like  that  of  France  and  Spain, ^ 

For  the  maintenance  of  these  vast  frontiers  Augustus  organ- 
ized an  enormous  standing  army.  Such  was  the  extent  of  the 
exposed  borders  that  it  taxed  the  powers  of  the  great  Empire 
to  the  utmost  to  furnish  enough  troops  for  the  purpose.  Since 
the  time  of  Marius  the  Italian  farmers  who  made  up  the  Roman 
army  had  been  slowly  giving  way  to  professional  soldiers  having 
no  home  but  the  camp  of  the  legion.  Now  the  army  was  re- 
cruited from  the  provinces,  and  the  soldier  who  entered  the 
legion  received  citizenship  in  return  for  his  service.  Thus  the 
fiction  that  the  army  was  made  up  of  citizens  was  maintained. 

The  population  of  this  vast  Empire,  which  girdled  the  Medi- 
terranean, including  France  and  England,  was  made  up  of  the 
most  diverse  peoples  and  races.  Egyptians,  Arabs,  Jews,  Greeks,  • 
Italians,  Gauls,  Britons,  Iberians  (Spaniards)  —  all  alike  were 
under  the  sovereign  rule  of  Rome.  One  great  State  embraced 
the  nomad  shepherds  who  spread  their  tents  on  the  borders  of 
the  Sahara,  the  mountaineers  in  the  fastnesses  of  Wales,  and  the 
citizens  of  Athens,  Alexandria,  and  Rome,  heirs  to  all  the  luxury 
and  learning  of  the  ages.  Whether  one  lived  in  York  or  Jeru- 
salem, Memphis  or  Vienna,  he  paid  his  taxes  into  the  same 

1  The  vast  hordes  of  Germans  in  the  unconquered  north  remained  a  constant 
menace  to  the  Roman  Empire.  They  finally  overwhelmed  a  large  part  of  it 
and  caused  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  West  (see  below, 
Chapter  XII). 


THE  ROMAN  E3IPIRE 

AT  ITS  GREATEST  EXTENT 
(Under  Trajan,  A.  D.  98-117) 

9  ipo  200  300  400         £00  600  ^9^ 

Scale  of  illks. 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  TriumpJi  of  CJiristianity     277 

treasury,   he  was  tried   by  the  same  law,   and  looked  to  the 
same  armies  for  protection. 

At  the  accession  of  Augustus  the  Roman  Empire  from  Rome   The  suffer- 
outward  to  the  very  frontiers  of  the  provinces  was  sadly  in   provinces 
need  of  restoration  and  opportunity  to  recuperate.   The  eastern   Jg^JJ^^^^^^jf 
domains,  especially  Greece,  where  the  most  important  fighting   civil  war 
of  the  long  civil  war  had  occurred,  had  suffered  severely.    All 
the  provinces  had  been  oppressed  and  excessively  overtaxed  or 
even  tacitly  plundered  under  the  Republic  (p.  239).    Barbarian 
invaders  had  seized  the  undefended  cities  of  the  provinces  and 
even  established  robber-states  for  plundering  purposes.    Greece 
herself  never  recovered  from  the  wounds  then  suffered,  and  in 
general  the  eastern  Mediterranean  had  been  greatly  demoralized. 
It  was  not  until  Caesar's  time  that  Pompey  cleared  it  of  the 
pirates,  who  had  almost  taken  possession  of  it.   The  cost  of  the 
century  of  civil  war  had  been  borne  by  the  provinces.   The  civi- 
lized world  was  longing  for  peace.    Augustus  now  succeeded 
brilliantly  in  restoring  order  and  in  establishing  those   stable 
conditions  out  of  which  prosperity  grows. 

In  Italy  the  policy  of  Augustus  was  in  all  directions  governed   The  at- 
by  that  respect  for  the  traditions  of  older  Rome  which  he  had   toration  by 
displayed  in  organizing  the  new  State.    Everywhere  he  endeav-   ^^g^^^us 
ored  to  restore  the  old  days,  the  good  old  Roman  customs,  the 
beliefs  of  the  fathers.    The  state  temples,  which  had  frequently 
fallen  into  decay,  were  repaired  ;  new  ones  were  built,  especially 
in  Rome ;  and  the  services  and  usages  of  Roman  state  religion 
were  revived.   The  people  were  urged  to  awaken  their  declining 
interest  in  the  religion  of  their  fathers,  and  the  old  religious  feasts 
were  celebrated  with  increased  splendor  and  impressiveness.^ 
The  purpose  of  Augustus  in  reviving  old  Rome  as  far  as  possible 
was  evidently  to  nationalize  Italy,  and  to  establish  there  a  Roman 
nation  forming  a  stable  nucleus  within  the  Roman  Empire. 

1  Had  it  been  possible  for  Augustus  to  know  the  history  of  the  Orient  for  six 
centuries  before  his  own  time,  he  would  have  discerned  how  vain  is  any  attempt 
of  authority  to  turn  back  the  hand  of  time  and  restore  old  conditions  (see  p.  84). 


2/8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


'k  ^^i-At^ 


■% 


4 


YA^^ 


Fig.   115.     ScRiBBLixGs    of    Sicilian 

Schoolboys    ox    a    Brick    in    the 

Days   of   the   Roman    Empire 

In  passing  a  brickyard  these  school- 
boys of  seventeen  hundred  years  ago 
amused  themselves  in  scribbling  school 
exercises  hi  Greek  on  the  soft  clay  bricks 
before  they  were  baked.  At  the  top  a  lit- 
tle boy  who  was  still  making  capitals  care- 
fully wrote  the  capital  letter  S  (Greek  2) 
ten  times,  and  under  it  the  similar  letter 
A',  also  ten  times.  These  he  followed  by 
the  words  "turtle"  (XEAfiNA),  "mill" 
(MTAA),  and  "pail"  (KAAOS),  all  in  cap- 
itals. Then  an  older  boy,  who  could  do 
more  than  write  capitals,  has  pushed  the 
little  chap  aside  and  proudly  demonstrated 
his  superiority  by  writing  in  two  lines  an 
exercise  in  tongue  gymnastics  (like  "Peter 
Piper  picked  a  peck  of  pickled  peppers," 
etc.),  which  in  our  letters  is  as  follows  : 
Nai  neai  nea  naia  neoi  temon,  hos  neoi  ha  naus 
This  means :  "  Boys  cut  new  planks  for  a 
new  ship,  that  the  ship  might  float."  A 
third  boy  then  added  two  lines  at  the  bot- 
tom. The  brick  illustrates  the  spread  of 
Greek  (p.  232)  as  well  as  provincial  educa- 
tion under  the  Roman  Empire  (p.  282) 


Much  as  Athens  in 
the  days  of  greatest 
Athenian  power,  so  the 
vision  of  the  greatness 
of  the  Roman  State 
stirred  the  imagination 
of  the  time.  Roman 
literature  now  reached 
its  highest  level.  Cic- 
ero, the  most  cultivated 
man  Rome  ever  pro- 
duced (p.  2 6 5),  had  per- 
ished at  the  hands  of 
Antony's  brutal  sol- 
diery as  one  of  the  last 
sacrifices  of  the  long 
civil  war.  He  had 
drunk  deep  at  the  foun- 
tains of  Greek  culture. 
There  were  many  edu- 
cated men  in  Rome 
who  had  enjoyed  sim- 
ilar opportunities,  and, 
like  Cicero  too,  had 
been  shaken  by  the  ter- 
rible ordeal  of  the 
death  struggles  of  the 
Republic. 

Horace,  the  greatest 
poet  of  the  time,  had 
fraternized  with  the  as- 
sassins of  Caesar,  and 
in  the  ensuing  strijggle 
had  faced  the  future 
Augustus  on  the  field 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  Triumph  of  Christianity     279 


of  battle.  Like  the  old  Greek  lyric  poets  (p.  159)  he  had  been 
cauglit  in  the  dangerous  current  of  his  time,  and,  as  he  was 
swept  along  in  the  violent  stream  of  civil  war,  he  had  with  diffi- 
culty struggled  ashore  and  at  last  found  secure  footing  in  the 
general  peace.    From  the  vantage  ground   of   the   Emperor's 


fi^n  '  \  pi  y- 


^^  1  '10'  r?^  ^^. 


^T-T1!Ot[    ^ 


Fig.  116.    Roman  Amphitheater  at  Pola,  Dalmatia 

Every  large  Roman  town  had  a  vast  arena,  or  amphitheater,  in  which 
thousands  of  spectators  could  be  seated  to  watch  the  public  fights 
between  professional  swordsmen  (gladiators)  and  between  men  and 
wild  beasts.  The  emperors  and  rich  men  paid  the  expenses  of  these 
combats.  The  greatest  of  these  arenas  was  the  Colosseum  at  Rome. 
The  one  here  represented  is  at  Pola,  in  Dalmatia,  and  shows  that  a 
Roman  town  of  perhaps  forty  thousand  inhabitants  was  supplied  with 
an  amphitheater,  holding  no  less  than  twenty  thousand  spectators,  who 
must  have  assembled  from  all  the  region  around.  The  seats  have  dis- 
appeared and  only  the  outside  of  the  building  remains 

forgiveness  and  favor  he  quietly  watched  events  as  the  tide 
swept  past  him,  and  then  finding  his  voice  he  interpreted  the 
men  and  the  life  of  his  time  in  a  body  of  verse,  which  forms  for 
us  an  undying  picture  of  the  Romans  in  the  age  of  Augustus. 
The  poems  of  Horace  will  always  remain  one  of  the  greatest 
legacies  from  the  ancient  world,  a  treasury  of  human  life  as 


28o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


pictured  by  a  ripe  and  cultivated  mind,  unsurpassed  even  in  the 
highly  developed  literature  of  the  Greeks. 

The  other  great  literary  name  of  the  epoch  is  that  of  Virgil, 
the  friend  of  Horace.  Hardly  so  penetrating  a  mind  as  Horace, 
Virgil  nevertheless  remains  one  of  the  great  interpreters  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived.    Moreover,  his  command  of  Latin  verse 


'-,---. 

„     .-  .;fe.<a  V    .<, 

'»^-r-aS<^~ 

V,  4' 

/I        K    /      «»    t'- 

•^^; 

.  ,-^'*-r  ' 

-  ,-„^/v 

^  »        ^        _ 

.'  >; 

r-'' 

^ 

^.. 

./-" 

r' 

fA 

>^> 

S^f:-^:^  ^:i 

' 

—      *      ^^ 

'  ^^     _ 

;._-.:                              ^-:     ^   ^^=;.^, 

--. 

Fig.  117.    Ruixs  of  the  Roman  Temples  at  Baalbek,  Syria 

The  Roman  temples  of  the  Sun-god  at  this  place  are  among  the  great- 
est buildings  ever  erected  (p.  284).    The  huge  block  in  the  foreground 
belongs  to  an  inclosure  wall ;  this  block  is  about  sixty-one  feet  long, 
thirteen  feet  wide,  and  nearly  ten  feet  thick 

is  supreme.  He  has  reflected  to  us  in  all  its  poetic  beauty  the 
rustic  life  of  his  time  on  the  green  hillsides  of  Italy,  but  he  is 
better  known  to  the  modem  world  at  large  by  his  great  epic, 
the  ^T^neid.  Unlike  the  Homeric  songs,  the  epic  of  Virgil  is 
not  the  expression  of  a  heroic  age  (p.  142).  It  is  the  product 
of  a  self-conscious,  literary  age  —  the  highly  finished  work  of 
a  literary  artist.  He  takes  his  materials  largely  from  the  early 
Greek  stories  of  the  Trojan  cycle,  but  he  feels  the  inspiration 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  Triumph  of  CJiristianity     281 


of  the  great  State  under  which  he  lives,  and  the  motive  of  the 
poem  is  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  house  of  Augustus  from  the 
Trojan  heroes  of  old.  Deeply  admired  by  the  age  which  pro- 
duced it,  the  yEneid  has  had  an  abiding  influence  on  the  litera- 
ture of  the  later  world.  These  two  names,  Horace  and  Virgil, 
far  outshine  the  numerous 
lesser  lights  of  the  Augustan 
Age,  of  whom  there  were 
later  but  too  few. 

The  Romans  who  enjoyed 
such  writings  as  these  had 
also  begun  to  read  Greek 
philosophy.  Once  obliged  to 
read  it  in  Greek,  they  could 
now  peruse  the  essays  and 
treatises  of  Cicero,  in  which 
Greek  philosophy  is  set  forth 
in  Latin.  Greek  thought  had 
now  taken  a  practical  turn, 
and  endeavored  to  furnish 
the  thinking  man  with  rules 
of  life  by  which  he  might 
shape  his  character  and  order 
his  conduct.  The  two  later 
schools  of  Greek  philosophy, 
the  Stoic  and  the  Epicurean, 
are  in  this  respect  practically 
religions — systems  of  thought 


Fig.  118.    Portrait  of  an 
Unknown  Roman 

This  terracotta  head  is  one  of  the  fin- 
est portraits  ever  made.  It  represents 
one  of  the  masterful  Roman  lords  of 
the  world,  and  shows  clearly  in  the 
features  those  qualities  of  power 
and  leadership  which  so  long  main- 
tained Roman  supremacy  (p.  285) 


Philosophy 
and  law  in  the 
Augustan 
Age 


which  furnish  a  reasonable  basis  for  right  conduct.   The  educated 
Roman  has  now  usually  abandoned  his  beliefs  in  the  old  gods  of 
Rome  and  has  become  a  Stoic  or  an  Epicurean.    Such  men  came 
to  find  their  gospel  in  the  writings  of  Seneca,  who  wrote  on  the   Seneca 
Stoic  manner  of  life  after  Augustus's  time. 

At  the  same  time  men  of  the  greatest  gifts  were  beginning   The  Roma 
to  expand  the  narrow  city-X'dc^  of  Rome,  that  it  might  meet  the 


282 


Outlines  of  liuropcan  History 


needs  of  a  great  empire.  They  laid  the  foundations  of  a  vast 
imperial  code  of  law,  a  great  work  of  Roman  genius.  Its  pur- 
pose was  that  as  there  was  one  government,  so  there  should 
be  one  law  for  all  the  civilized  world.  The  same  principles  of 
reason,  justice,  and  humanity  were  believed  to  hold  whether 
the  Roman  citizen  lived  upon  the  Euphrates  or  the  Thames. 
The  law  of  the  Roman  Empire  is  its  chief  legacy  to  posterity. 
Its,  provisions  are  still  in  force  in  many  of  the  states  of  Europe 
to-day,  and  it  is  one  of  the  subjects  of  study  in  our  American 
universities.  Wives  and  children  were  protected  from  the  cruelty 
of  the  head  of  the  house,  w^ho,  in  earlier  centuries,  had  been 
privileged  to  treat  the  members  of  his  family  as  slaves.  The  law 
held  that  it  was  better  that  a  guilty  person  should  escape  than 
that  an  innocent  person  should  be  condemned.  It  conceived 
mankind  not  as  a  group  of  nations  and  tribes,  each  with  its  own 
laws,  but  as  one  people  included  in  one  great  empire  and  sub- 
ject to  a  single  system  of  law  based  upon  fairness  and  reason. 

Section  46.    Civilization  after  Augustus  and 
ITS  Decline 


The  Medi- 
terranean 
world :  the 
same  culture 
throughout 
the  Roman 
Empire 


Such  organization  created  a  vast  Mediterranean  world,  in  the 
midst  of  which  men  of  all  nations  lost  their  nationality.  In  spite 
of  the  efforts  of  Augustus,  even  the  men  of  Italy  soon  felt 
themselves  to  be  citizens  of  the  great  Roman  wo7-Id — a  world 
everywhere  more  and  more  inwrought  with  Greek  civilization. 
The  government  encouraged  education  by  supporting  at  least 
three  teachers  in  every  town  of  any  considerable  importance 
(Fig.  115).  They  taught  rhetoric  and  oratory  and  explained 
the  works  of  the  great  Greek  and  Latin  writers.  A  reading 
public  for  the  first  time  fringed  the  entire  Mediterranean,  and 
an  educated  man  was  sure  to  find,  even  in  the  oudying  parts 
of  the  great  Empire,  other  educated  men  with  much  the  same 
interests  and  ideas  as  his  own.  Travel  was  so  common  that 
wide  acquaintance  with  the  world  was  not  unusual. 


The  Roinaii  Empire  to  the  Triumph  of  Christianity     28, 


The  cultivated  Roman  gentleman  now  makes  his  tour  of  the 


A  tour  of 
the  Medi- 
terranean in 


Mediterranean  much  as  does  the  modern  man  of  means.    In  the 

writin<^s  of  the  Empire  we  may  follow  the  Roman  tourist  as  he  ^^^  Empire 

°  r  ^  Greece 

wanders  along  the  foot  of  the  Acropolis  of  Athens  (Plate  III, 
p.  180)  and  catches  a  vision  of  vanished  greatness  as  it  was  in  the 
days  of  Themistocles  and  Pericles.    He  strolls  through  the  porch 


C\Q:^^^i<^  0  ->  _ 


-^^11- 


Fig.  119.    Roman  Bridge  axd  Aqueduct  at  Nimes,  Franxe 

This  structure  was  built  by  the  Romans  about  the  year  20  a.d.  to 
supply  the  Roman  colony  of  Nemausus  (now  called  Nimes)  in  south- 
ern France  with  water  from  two  excellent  springs  twenty-five  miles 
distant.  It  is  nearly  nine  hundred  feet  long  and  one  hundred  sixty  feet 
high,  and  carried  the  water  over  the  valley  of  the  river  Gard.  The 
channel  for  the  water  is  at  the  very  top,  and  one  can  still  walk  through 
it.  The  miles  of  aqueduct  on  either  side  of  this  bridge  and  leading  up 
to  it  have  almost  disappeared 


of  the  Stoics,  where  Stoic  philosophy  was  first  taught,  and  he 
renews  pleasant  memories  of  student  days  when  as  a  youth  he 
studied  here.  He  remembers  also  how  he  went  occasionally 
over  to  the  Academy  (p.  210),  where  he  heard  the  teaching  of 
Plato's  successors. 

If  his  journey  takes  him  to  Delphi  (Fig.  82),  he  finds  it  still  a 
vivid  story  of  the  victories  of  Hellas  in  the  days  of  her  greatness, 


284  Outlines  of  European  History 

a  story  told  in  marble  treasuries  and  in  votive  monuments 
(Fig.  82)  donated  to  Apollo  by  all  the  Greek  states  in  thanks- 
giving for  the  triumphs  he  has  granted.  As  he  stands  amid 
these  thickly  clustered  monuments,  the  Roman  notices  many  an 
empty  pedestal,  and  he  recalls  how  the  villas  of  his  friends  at 
home,  across  the  hills  from  his  own  estates,  are  adorned  in 
court  and  porch  and  garden  vista  with  the  bronze  and  marble 
statues  which  once  occupied  these  empty  pedestals,  but  have 
now  been  carried  to  Italy  by  Roman  power.  It  is  a  vivid  illus- 
tration of  how  the  best  things  in  Greek  civilization  have  been 
appropriated  by  the  Romans.  The  Greek  cities  which  brought 
forth  these  things  are  all  now  politically  helpless  under  the 
sovereignty  of  Rome,  and  the  Romans  have  become  the  heirs 
of  the  great  past  of  Greece. 
The  East  As  the  Roman  traveler  passes  through  the  cities  of  Asia 

Minor  (Fig.  loi)  and  Syria,  his  national  pride  is  quickened  to 
see  what  Roman  rule  is  doing  for  these  undeveloped  lands  to 
the  very  borders  of  the  Arabian  desert.  Fine  militar}^  roads 
paved  with  smooth  stone  blocks  link  city  to  city  and  furnish  what 
is  for  the  ancient  world  rapid  transit  for  the  speedy  movement 
of  government  messengers  or  the  urgent  transfer  of  the  never- 
failing  legions.  Long  aqueducts  conduct  the  waters  from  the 
mountain  heights  down  into  the  city  fountains  for  public  use. 
Imposing  public  buildings  and  monuments  are  rising  on  every 
hand  (Fig,  1 17).  Where  once  the  barracks  sheltered  the  merce- 
naries of  the  local  tyrant  of  former  days,  there  now  stands  a 
schoolhouse.  Men  are  everywhere  rejoicing  in  the  universal 
peace  and  realize  fully  that  it  is  the  gift  of  Rome.  The  ad- 
vantages of  Roman  citizenship  are  constantly  before  their  eyes 
in  the  ever-increasing  number  of  Roman  citizens  in  the  eastern 
cities,  where  they  are  settled  as  merchants  even  on  the  banks 
of  the  Euphrates.  Tranquillity  and  safe  transport,  guaranteed 
by  the  Roman  legions,  have  filled  the  highways  with  merchants 
and  travelers.  As  the  Roman  looks  out  over  the  eastern  harbors 
(Fig.  102)  he  sees  the  distant  horizon  whitened  with  the  sails  of 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  TriumpJi  of  CJiristianity     285 


Mediterranean  commerce  in  Roman  ships.    They  carry  Roman 
coins,  weights,  and  measures  throughout  the  Mediterranean. 

If  he  takes  one  of  these  huge  Roman  galleys  and  lands  in 
the  Nile  delta,  he  finds  this  land  of  ancient  wonders  filled  as  of 
old  with  flocks  and  herds  and  vast  stretches  of  luxuriant  grain 


Egypt 


"  -riw)-'-*-':,^,  -;■  ■  ■■•-^-;>.'.'-; -^._, 


Jaf,..,,.  Wpi-y* 


Fig.  120.    Roman  Temple  at  NImes,  France 

This  beautiful  temple  was  probably  built  about  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era.  It  was  situated  in  the  forum  with  other  public  buildings 
which  have  now  disappeared.  After  the  break-up  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire it  was  used  as  a  Christian  church,  then  as  a  town  hall,  then  as  a 
warehouse,  and  finally  as  a  stable.  In  1824  it  was  restored  to  its  original 
condition,  as  we  now  find  it 


fields.  It  has  become  the  granary  of  Rome  and  a  mine  of  wealth 
for  the  Emperor's  private  purse.  The  splendid  buildings  of 
Alexandria  remind  the  traveler  of  Greece ;  but  as  he  sails  up  the 
river,  he  is  at  once  in  the  midst  of  the  ancient  East,  and  all  about 
him  are  buildings  which  were  old  long  before  Rome  was  founded. 
These  attract  numerous  wealthy  Greek  and  Roman  tourists. 
Such  Romans  feel  themselves  lords  of  the  world  (Fig.  118). 


286  Outlines  of  Riiropcau  History 

Like  our  own  modern  fellow  citizens  in  the  same  land,  their 
clothing  betrays  every  touch  of  the  latest  mode.  They  berate 
the  slow  mails,  languidly  discuss  the  latest  news  from  Rome 
while  with  indolent  curiosity  they  visit  the  Pyramids  of  Gizeh 
(Plate  I),  or  spend  a  lazy  afternoon  carving  their  names  on  the 
colossal  statues  which  overshadow  the  mighty  plain  of  Egyptian 
Thebes  (Fig.  29).  On  these  monuments  we  find  their  scrib- 
blings  at  the  present  day.    Everywhere  throughout  the  eastern 


j=^:^J&'nlitf^     « 


,r-^^ 


Fig.  121.    Roman  Bridge  at  St.  Chamas  in  Southern  France 

This  Roman  bridge  with  its  handsome  portals  was  built  in  the  time  of 
the  Emperor  Augustus ;  that  is,  about  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era 

Mediterranean  the  Roman  hears  Greek  and  speaks  it  with  his 
friends.    As  he  moves  westward  again,  however,  he  begins  to 
hear  more  Latin. 
The  West  Seneca,  one  of  the  wisest  of  the  Romans,  said,  "  Wherever  a 

Roman  has  conquered,  there  he  also  lives."  This  w^as  true  to 
some  extent  everywhere,  but  especially  in  the  West.  Colonies 
were  sent  out  to  the  confines  of  the  Empire,  and  the  remains  of 
great  public  buildings,  of  theaters  and  bridges,  of  sumptuous 
villas  and  baths  at  places  like  Treves  (Trier),  Cologne,  Bath, 
and  Salzburg,  indicate  how  thoroughly  the  influence  and  civili- 
zation of  Rome  penetrated  to  the  utmost  parts  of  the  territory 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  TriiimpJi  of  CJiristianity     287 

subject  to  her  rule.  The  illustrations  in  this  chapter  will  show 
the  reader  what  wonderfully  fine  towns  the  Roman  colonies  were 
(see  Figs.  116,  117,  1 19-124). 

The  remarkable  development  of  such  splendid  cities  in  the   The  decline 
Roman  provinces  would  indicate  great  advances  in  civilization.   JionTfter 
This  was  without  doubt  true  of  certain  localities.    But  this  out-  Augustus 
ward  splendor  of  the  colonies  and  provinces  was  no  indication 


Fig.  122.    Ruins  of  Roman  Baths  at  Bath,  England 

There  are  hot  springs  at  Bath,  England,  and  here  the  Roman  colonists 
in  Britain  developed  a  fashionable  watering  place.  In  recent  years 
the  soil  and  rubbish  which,  through  the  centuries,  had  collected  over 
the  old  Roman  buildings  have  been  removed,  and  we  can  get  some  idea 
of  how  they  were  arranged.  The  picture  represents  a  model  of  a  part 
of  the  ruins.  To  the  right  is  a  great  quadrangular  pool,  eighty-three  by 
forty  feet  in  size,  and  to  the  left  a  circular  bath.  Over  the  whole  a  fine 
hall  was  built,  with  recesses  on  either  side  of  the  big  pool  where  one 
might  sit  and  talk  with  his  friends 

of  the  tendency  of  civilization  in  the  Roman  world  as  a  whole. 
The  triumph  of  Augustus  had  ushered  in  two  centuries  of  peace, 
little  affected  by  the  frequent  disturbances  and  the  often  serious 
wars  on  the  frontiers.  During  these  two  centuries  the  most  pro- 
found changes  went  on  within  the  Roman  Empire  —  changes 
which  betray  the  slow  decline  and  lead  to  the  fall  of  the  great 
structure  of  civilization  which  had  risen  to  dominate  the  Medi- 
terranean world.  The  effort  of  Augustus  to  restore  the  simple 
wholesomeness  and  the  sturdy  virtues  of  the  old  Roman  life 


288 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Lack  of 

responsible 

citizenship 


Decline  of 
the  army 


Men  of 
wealth  absorb 
the  farming 
lands ;  the 
villas 


had  failed.  Beneath  the  surface  tendencies  which  no  ruler  can 
control  were  in  motion. 

In  the  first  place,  the  people  were  losing  their  voice  in  govern- 
ment. Responsible  citizenship,  which  does  so  much  to  develop 
the  best  among  the  citizens  of  any  community,  passed  away  and 
the  world  became  indifferent  to  public  questions.  Men  no  longer 
enjoyed  the  educative  influence  of  an  interest  in  the  welfare  and 
the  problems  of  the  community.  As  the  comparatively  small 
percentage  of  highly  educated  men  thus  yielded  to  passive  in- 
difference they  lost  public  leadership,  and  it  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  corrupt  and  untrained  masses. 

This  loss  of  regard  for  the  duties  of  citizenship  had  a  serious 
effect  on  the  army,  once  the  greatest  organization  in  the  Roman 
Empire.  By  the  end  of  the  first  century  a.d.  the  Romans  of 
Italy  had  ceased  to  enlist  in  the  rank  and  file  of  the  army.  Re- 
cruits for  the  defense  of  the  frontiers  were  then  levied  exclusively 
in  the  provincial  districts.  We  recall  that  the  sword  which  such 
a  recruit  received  from  the  hands  of  the  centurion,  as  he  stepped 
into  the  ranks  for  the  first  time,  eventually  brought  him  Roman 
citizenship.  But  such  a  recruit  had  never  seen  Rome  nor  ever 
enjoyed  the  influences  of  civilized  life.  He  knew  nothing  of 
Roman  citizenship  in  the  old  sense.  He  and  his  comrades  lived 
in  frontier  barracks  (Fig.  125),  far  from  refining  contact  with 
civilization.  As  it  became  more  and  more  difficult  to  raise  the 
legions,  even  the  German  barbarians  of  the  north  were  permitted 
to  cross  the  border  (Fig.  1 1 4)  and  enlist.  In  the  end  the  army 
degenerated  into  unruly  and  turbulent  hordes  of  military  fron- 
tiers men,  feeling  none  of  the  responsibilities  of  a  citizen  bear- 
ing arms,  and  often  much  resembling  the  revolutionary  bands 
which  devastate  Mexico  or  the  South  American  republics. 

The  Romans  of  Italy,  who  thus  yielded  the  sword  to  provin- 
cials and  foreigners,  either  succumbed  to  poverty  on  the  one  hand 
or,  on  the  other,  improving  the  opportunities  of  the  age  for  self- 
enrichment,  the  fortunate  few  were  leading  a  life  of  idle  luxury 
(Fig.  129).    It  was  unlawful  for  a  Roman  of  senatorial  rank  to 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  Triumph  of  Christianity    289 

engage  in  merchandising.  Hence  land  was  the  most  highly 
esteemed  form  of  wealth  in  the  Roman  Empire,  in  spite  of  the 
heavy  taxes  imposed  upon  it.  Without  large  holdings  of  land  no 
one  could  hope  to  enjoy  a  high  social  position  or  an  honorable 
office  under  the  government.  Consequently  the  land  came  gradu- 
ally into  the  hands  of  the  rich  and  ambitious.   This  change  which 


XU,_ ,     _.i 


^  -> 


*ti'v' 


Fig.  123.   Fortified  Gate  of  the  City  of  Trier 
Western  Germany 


in 


Colonia  Augusta  Treverorum  (now  called  Trier  or  Treves)  was  one  of 
the  chief  Roman  colonies  on  the  German  boundaries  of  the  Empire. 
The  Roman  emperors  often  resided  there,  and  the  remains  of  their 
palace  are  still  to  be  seen.  The  great  gate  here  represented  was  de- 
signed to  protect  the  entrance  of  the  town,  which  was  surrounded 
with  a  wall,  for  the  Romans  were  in  constant  danger  of  attack  from  the 
neighboring  German  tribes.  One  can  also  see  at  Treves  the  remains 
of  a  vast  amphitheater  in  which  on  two  occasions  Constantine  had 
several  thousand  German  prisoners  cast  to  be  killed  by  wild  animals 
for  the  amusement  of  the  spectators  (see  Fig.  116) 
I 


290  Outlines  of  European  History 

had  already  destroyed  the  small  farmer  in  Italy  (p.  264)  now 
blighted  the  prosperity  of  the  provinces  also.    Great  estates  called 
villas  covered  not  only  Italy  but  also  Gaul  and  Britain.    Half  of 
the  great  province  behind  Carthage,  called  "Africa,"^  was  in 
the  hands  of  six  such  villa  owners.    The  lord  of  such  kingly  do- 
mains lived  like  a  prince,  with  a  great  household  of  personal 
attendant  slaves  who  cooked  the  food,  waited  on  the  proprietor, 
wjcote  his  letters,  read  to  him,  and  entertained  him  in  other  ways. 
Decreasing        :  Such  household  slaves  led  a  not  undesirable  life  and  were  often 
slaves  and        on  tcrms  of  the  greatest  intimacy  with  their  owners.    Household 
^y^^^^      I         slavery  had  never  been  so  great  an  evil  as  the  industrial  and 

improved  j  » 

condition  agrieultural  slavery  which  had  brought  such  social  and  economic 
ruin  during  the  last  two  centuries  of  the  Republic,  when  the 
work  in  the  factories  and  the  fields  of  Italy  was  done  by  multi- 
tudes of  slaves  (p.  264).  The  long  wars  had  furnished  these  vast 
hordes  of  slaves ;  but  after  the  great  wars  of  conquest  were  over, 
this  source  of  supply  ceased,  for  there  were  no  prisoners  of  war 
to  be  sold  as  slaves.  The  hosts  of  foreign  slaves  who  accom- 
plished the  ruin  of  the  Italian  farmers  and  craftsmen  after  200  B.C. 
(p.  264)  had  therefore  greatly  decreased  under  the  Empire,  when 
the  number  of  slaves  was  steadily  diminishing,  and  the  villas  were 
worked  by  the  eoloni  (see  p.  292).  The  condition,  even  of  in- 
dustrial and  agricultural  slaves  moreover,  had  much  improved. 
Their  owners  abandoned  the  horrible  subterranean  prisons  in 
which  the  farm  hands  had  once  been  miserably  huddled  at  night. 
The  law,  moreover,  protected  the  slave  from  some  of  the  worst 
forms  of  abuse  ;  first  and  foremost  it  deprived  his  master  of  the 
right  to  kill  him.  Although  a  villa  might  be  as  extensive  as  a 
large  village,  its  members  were  under  the  absolute  control  of 
the  proprietor  of  the  estate.    ( 

Another  cause  of  the  decreasing  number  of  slaves  was  the  fact 
that  masters  now  began  to  free  their  slaves  on  a  large  scale  — 

1  This  word  did  not,  of  course,  designate  the  whole  continent  of  Africa  as  it 
does  now.  Under  Rome  it  applied  to  a  province  extending  only  to  the  borders  of 
the  Sahara. 


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292 


Outlijics  of  European  History 


Contrast 
between 
frcedmaii 
and  free  men 


Decline  of 

the  poor  free 
citizen  —  in 
the  towns 


In  the 

country  : 
the  coloiii 


Resemblance 
between  the 
coloni  and  the 
later  serfs 


Country 
people  flock 
to  the  city ; 
decreasing 
population 


for  what  reasons  we  do  not  know.  When  a  slave  was  freed  he 
was  called  ^  freedman,  but  he  was  by  no  means  in  the  position 
of  one  who  had  been  born  free.  It  was  true  that  he  was  no 
longer  a  mere  thing  that  could  be  bought  and  sold,  but  he  had 
still  to  serve  his  former  master  —  who  had  now  become  his 
patroji  —  for  a  certain  number  of  days  in  the  year.  He  was 
obliged  to  pay  him  a  part  of  his  earnings  and  could  not  marry 
without  his  patron's  consent. 

But  as  the  condition  of  the  slaves  improved  and  many  of 
them  became  freedmen,  the  state  of  the  poor  free  man  only  be- 
came worse.  In  the  towns  (Fig.  128),  if  he  tried  to  earn  his 
living,  he  was  forced  to  mingle  with  those  slaves  who  were 
permitted  to  work  for  wages  and  with  the  freedman,  but  he 
naturally  tended  to  sink  to  their  level. 

In  the  country  the  small  farmer  and  the  free  laborer  for  hire 
could  not  survive  long  in  competition  with  the  great  villas.  As 
the  burden  of  taxes  became  unbearable  the  farmer  finally  gave 
up  the  struggle.  He  entered  upon  an  arrangement  which  made 
him  the  colojius  of  some  wealthy  landholder.  As  such  the  farmer 
and  his  descendants  w^ere  forever  attached  to  the  land  they 
worked,  and  passed  with  it  from  owner  to  owner  when  it  changed 
hands.  While  not  actually  slaves,  they  were  not  free  to  leave 
or  go  where  they  pleased,  and  they  were  hardly  as  favorably  sit- 
uated as  many  slaves.  Like  the  -medieval  serf,^  they  could  not 
be  deprived  of  their  fields  so  long  as  they  paid  the  owner  a  cer- 
tain part  of  their  crop  and  worked  for  him  during  a  period 
fixed  by  the  customs  of  the  estate  upon  which  they  lived.  This 
system  made  it  impossible  for  the  farmer  to  become  really  in- 
dependent, or  for  his  son  to  become  better  off  than  he.  The 
great  villas  once  worked  by  slaves  were  now  cultivated  chiefly 
by  these  coloni. 

Multitudes  turned  to  the  city  for  relief,  just  as  at  the  present 
day  in  Europe  and  America  there  is  a  large  and  steady  move- 
ment of  country  population  toward  the  cities.   The  large  families, 

1  See  below,  section  67. 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  Triumph  of  Christianity     293 

which  country  life  favors,  were  no  longer  reared,  the  number  of 
marriages  decreased,  and  the  population  of  the  Empire  steadily 
shrank.  The  rapid  decline  of  agriculture,  which  had  long  before 
overtaken  Greece,  and  then  Italy  (p.  264),  having  now  reached 
the  provinces  also,  there  were  vast  stretches  of  unworked  fields 
which  were  slowly  absorbed  by  forest  wilds.    As  the  amount  of 


-«ifi&'. 


Fig.  125.   Glimpses  of  a  Roman  Frontier  Stronghold 
(Restored  after  Waltze-Schulze) 

Above,  at  the  left,  the  main  gate  of  the  fort ;  the  other  three  views  show 
the  barracks  (compare  Fig.  114) 


land  under  cultivation  steadily  decreased,  the  ancient  world  was   Diminishing 
no  longer  raising  enough  food  to  feed  itself  properly.     The   insufficient' 
scarcity  was  felt  most  severely  in  the  great  centers  of  popula-  ^'^^'^  supply 
tion,  like  Rome,  where  prices  at  once  began  to  go  up.    Our 
generation,  afflicted  in  the  same  way,  is  not  the  first  to  complain 
of  "the  high  cost  of   living."     Industrial   prosperity  and   the 
growth  of  manufactures  in  the  cities  could  not  avail  to  offset 
the  decay  of  agriculture. 


294 


Outlines  of  ILuropcaii  llistoiy 


The  country  people  who  yielded  to  the  attractions  of  the  city 
were  only  debased  by  the  life  they  entered  there.  At  Rome  the 
newcomer  found  a  city  of  sumptuous  marble  where  once  there 
was  little  but  brick.    Noble  architecture  enveloped  the  Forum 


li-U^ 


i    «f- 


Fig.  126.   The  Vast  Flavian  Amphitheater  at  Rome  now 

CALLED  THE  COLOSSEUM.  (AfTER  LuCKENBACH) 

This  enormous  building,  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  world,  was  an  oval 
arena  surrounded  by  rising  tiers  of  seats,  accommodating  nearly  fifty 
thousand  people.  We  see  here  only  the  outside  wall,  as  restored.  It 
was  built  by  the  emperors  Vespasian  and  Titus,  and  was  completed  in 
80  A.D.  as  a  place  for  spectacular  combats.  Athletic  games  and  contests 
of  strength  had  long  accompanied  the  funerals  of  great  men  in  Greece 
and  Rome.  The  Romans  then  continued  such  combats  for  their  own 
sake,  and  the  combatants,  called  gladiators  (meaning  "swordsmen"), 
often  took  each  other's  lives  (compare  Fig.  116) 


and  crow^ned  the  Seven  Hills  (Figs.  113,  127).  Outward  pros- 
perity, luxury  and  splendor,  chariot  races,  bloody  games  and 
spectacles  (Fig.  126),  free  distribution  of  bread,  wine,  and  meat 
to  all  needy  citizens  at  the  cost  of  the  State  —  these  things 
completely  concealed  from  the  discernment  of  the  mob  the  cur- 
rents beneath  the  surface  which  were  setting  so  steadily  toward 
ruin.    The  city  of  Rome  thus  became  a  great  hive  of  shiftless 


The  Roman  Einpiir  to  the  Triumph  of  Christianity     295 

population  supported  by  the  State  with  means  for  which  the 
struggling  agriculturist  was  taxed. 

Meantime  the  great  city  was  rife  with  increasing  luxury  and   incoming 
display.    The  discovery  of  the  seasonal  winds  in  the  Indian   luxuries 
Ocean  resulted  in  great  commerce,  through  the  Red  Sea  with 
India,  such  as  the  world  had  never  known  before.    At  the  same 


1 


-k  ^^-- 


-^^^^^^^feg^ 


Fig. 


127.  A  Street  of  Tombs  outside  Rome,  ox  the 
Appian  Way 


These  tombs  lined  both  sides  of  the  Appian  Way  (p.  256)  for  some  dis- 
tance from  Rome.    They  illustrate  the  more  showy  and  sumptous  archi- 
tecture of  the   Romans  as  contrasted  with  the   simpler  style   of  the 
Greeks  (compare  the  Athenian  street  of  tombs,  Fig.  97) 

time  there  was  overland  connection  further  north  with  China. 
All  the  luxuries  of  the  East  began  to  flow  into  the  Mediterra- 
nean—  many  of  them  luxuries  which  the  Romans  never  had 
seen  before.  Roman  ladies  were  decked  with  diamonds,  pearls, 
and  rubies  from  India,  and  they  robed  themselves  in  shining 
silks  from  China.  The  tables  of  the  rich  were  bright  with 
peaches  and  apricots,  now  appearing  for  the  first  time  in  the 
Roman  world.    Roman  cooks  learned  to  prepare  rice,  formerly 


296  Outlines  of  European  History 

only  prescribed  by  physicians  as  a  delicacy  for  convalescents.^ 
Instead  of  sweetening  their  dishes  with  honey,  as  formerly, 
Roman  households  began  to  find  a  new  product  in  the  market 
place  known  as  "sakari,"'  as  the  report  of  a  venturesome  oriental 
sailor  of  the  first  century  a.d.  calls  the  sirup  of  sugar  cane, 
which  he  brought  by  water  from  India  into  the  Mediterranean 
for  the  first  time.  This  is  the  earliest  mention  of  sugar  in  his- 
tor}^  These  new  things  in  the  Roman  world  remind  one  of  the 
potatoes,  coffee,  tobacco,  and  Indian  com  of  America  as  they 
found  their  way  to  Europe  after  the  voyages  of  Columbus. 

Section  47.  Popularity  of  Oriental  Religions  and 
THE  Spread  of  Early  Christianity 

These  things  are  tangible  evidence  of  the  tide  that  was  set- 
ting into  the  ^lediterranean  from  the  Orient.  This  tide  brought 
with  it  other  things  less  easily  traced,  but  much  more  important 
in  their  influence  on  the  declining  Roman  world.  Intellectual 
life  was  steadily  ebbing ;  there  was  not  a  really  great  name  in 
Roman  literature  after  Horace  and  Virgil,  Philosophy  was  no 
longer  occupied  with  new  thoughts  and  the  discovery  of  new 
truths.  In  its  place,  as  we  have  seen,  appeared  the  semireligious 
systems  of  living,  taught  by  the  Stoics  and  Epicureans,  But 
such  teaching  was  only  for  the  highly  educated  and  the  intel- 
lectual class  —  a  class  constantly  decreasing.  Even  such  men 
frequently  yielded  to  the  tendency  of  the  multitude  and  sought 
refuge  in  the  oriental  religions  which  the  incoming  life  of  the 
East  was  bringing  in. 
Eg>ptian  I  sis  Even  in  Augustus's  day  the  Roman  poet  Tibullus,  absent  on 
a  military  campaign  which  sickness  had  interrupted,  wrote  to 
his  fiance'e  Delia  then  in  Rome :  "  What  does  your  Isis  for  me 
now,  Delia  ?  What  avail  me  those  brazen  sistra  ^  of  hers,  so 
often  shaken  by  your  hand  ?  .  .  .    Now,  now,  goddess,  help  me ; 

1  Horace  amusingly  pictures  the  distress  of  a  miserly  Roman  at  the  price  of 
a  dish  of  rice  prescribed  by  a  physician.    It  was  still  a  luxury  in  his  time. 

2  Musical  instruments  played  by  shaking  in  the  hand. 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  Tiiiimph  of  CJiristianity     297 

for  that  man  may  be  healed  by  thee  is  proved  by  many  a  picture 
in  thy  temples."  Tibullus  and  his  fiancee  belonged  to  the  most 
cultivated  class,  but  they  had  taken  refuge  in  the  faith  of  the 
Egyptian  Isis.    \\'hat  these  t\vo  had  done,  was  being  done  under 


^«^^:4Jg,uia 


I 


rrivs.jt-«  > 


'■ii^- 


Fig.  128.   A  View  across  the  Forim  of  Pompeii  to  Vesuvius 

The  little  provincial  city  of  Pompeii  near  Naples,  having  twenty 
thousand  to  thirty  thousand  inhabitants,  was  destroyed  by  fire  and  over- 
whelmed with  showers  of  ashes  from  the  neighboring  volcano  of  Vesu- 
vius in  79  A.D.  Some  two  thousand  of  the  inhabitants  perished.  At 
present  the  accumulations  from  successive  eruptions  are  about  twenty 
feet  deep.  The  excavation  of  the  town  is  still  going  on,  and  will  prob- 
ably continue  some  twenty-five  years  longer  before  the  whole  place  is 
uncovered.  The  place  is  a  great  treasure  house  of  Roman  life  in  the 
smaller  cities  under  the  early  Empire,  for  all  the  streets  and  the  first 
floors  of  the  houses  are  preserved,  often  with  many  things  of  value 
which  they  contained  (see  Figs.  99  and  129) 

the  early  Empire  by  multitudes,  and  the  temples  of  Isis  were 
to  be  found  in  all  the  larger  cities.  The  Isis  temple  at  Pompeii 
(Fig.  128)  has  survived  to  illustrate  the  power  of  the  foreign 
goddess  and  Osiris  her  husband  (p.  27),  who  were  now  dis- 
placing the  gods  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 


298 


Outlines  of  Eui'opcaii  History 


"  Great 
Mother  "  of 
Asia  Minor 


Isis  and  Osiris  were  not  without  oriental  competitors,  for  the 
Great  Mother  goddess  of  Asia  Minor,  with  her  consort  Attis, 
gained  the  devotion  of  many  Romans  also.  In  the  army  the 
Persian  god  Mithras  (p.  100),  a  god  of  light,  who  slew  his 


\\ 


Fig.  129.   Interior  of  the  House  of  a  Wealthy  Roman 
Citizen  in  Pompeii 

The  walls  of  the  houses  in  Pompeii  (Fig.  128)  are  now  often  found  pre- 
served up  to  the  tops  of  the  doors,  or  even  sometimes  to  the  ceihng. 
These  walls  still  bear  their  beautiful  decorative  paintings,  while  the 
floors  are  paved  with  many-colored  marble  blocks  of  splendid  mosaics 
like  Fig.  99.  Sumptuous  rugs  and  hangings  also  enriched  walls  and 
floors.  Statues  from  Greece  (p.  284  ;  cut,  p.  214),  and  many  bronze  lamps, 
tripods,  and  candelabra  (see  rear  of  first  room)  for  lighting  and  heat- 
ing adorned  the  rooms  and  halls.  Immense  wealth  was  expended  on 
luxury  in  such  fittings.  Cicero,  not  a  man  of  great  wealth,  is  reported 
to  have  spent  over  fifty  thousand  dollars,  for  a  single  table 


enemy  the  bull,  was  a  great  favorite,  and  many  a  legion  had  its 
underground  chapel  where  its  members  celebrated  his  triumph. 
All  these  faiths  had  their  "  mysteries,"  consisting  chiefly  of 
dramatic  presentations  of  the  career  of  the  god.  In  the  Egyp- 
tian religion  and  that  of  the  Great  Mother,  his  submission  to 
death,  his  triumph  over  it,  and  ascent  to  everlasting  life  made 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  Triumph  of  Christianity     299 

a  deep  impression.^  It  was  believed  that  to  witness  these  things 
and  to  submit  to  certain  holy  ceremonies  of  initiation  would 
bring  to  the  initiated  deliverance  from  evil,  the  power  to  share 
in  the  endless  life  of  the  god,  and  to  dwell  with  him  forever. 

The  old  Roman  faith  had  little  to  do  with  conduct  and  held   Decline  of 
out  to  the  worshiper  no  such  hopes  as  these.    Little  wonder  religion 
that  the  Roman  multitude  found  the  attraction  of  these  oriental 
faiths  and  the  blessed  future  insured  by  their  "mysteries"  irre- 
sistible.   At  the  same  time  it  Vvas  possible  to  learn  the  future   Astrology 
of  ever}'  individual,  as  all  believed,  by  the  use  of  Babylonian 
astrology   (p.  84),   and    its    mysterious    practices  were    ever}'- 
where.    The  orientals  who  practiced  it  were  called  Chaldeans 
(p.  84)  or  Magi.^ 

The  Jews  too,  now  that  their  temple  in  Jerusalem  (p.  108)  Judaism 
had  been  destroyed  by  the  Romans,  were  to  be  found  in  in- 
creasing numbers  in  the  larger  cities.  Strabo,  a  geographer  of 
the  early  Empire,  says  of  them,  "  This  people  has  already  made 
its  way  into  ever}^  citv%  and  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  place  in 
the  habitable  world  which  has  not  admitted  this  race  and  been 
dominated  by  it.'"'*  The  Roman  world  was  becoming  accustomed 
to  their  synagogues ;  but  the  Jews  refused  to  acknowledge  any 
other  gods,  and  their  exclusiveness  brought  them  disfavor  and 
trouble  with  the  government. 

All  subjects  of  the  Empire  were  required  to  recognize  the   The  Emperor 
divinity  of  the  Emperor.    He  had  now  become  a  sun-god  like  ^  ""'^° 
the  kings  of  Eg}'pt  and  he  was  known  as  the  "  Invincible  Sun  "' 
(Fig.  117).    As  a  god  he  stood  for  the  majesty  and  glor}^  of  the   The  worship 
Roman    dominion.     The   inhabitants   of  each   province   might   Emperor 
revere  their  particular  gods,  undisturbed  by  the  government, 
but  all  were  obliged,  as  good  citizens,  to  join  in  the  official  sacri- 
fices to  the  head  of  the  State,  as  a  god.    His  birthday  was  on 
the  twenty-fifth  of  December. 

1  See  the  account  of  the  resurrection  of  Osiris,  p.  27. 

-  The  Magi  were  originally  an  order  of  oriental  priests.    Our  word  "  magic  " 
is  derived  from  this  name. 


300 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Spread  of 
Christianity 


Paul  and  the 
foundation  of 
the  earUest 
churches 


Rome 
persecutes, 
the  early 
Christians 


Among  all  these  faiths  of  the  East  that  were  displacing  the 
old  religion  of  Rome,  the  common  people  were  more  and  more 
inclining  toward  one  of  which  we  have  not  yet  spoken.  It  too 
came  out  of  the  East.  Its  teachers  told  how  their  Master, 
Jesus,  was  born  in  Palestine,  the  land  of  the  Jews,  in  the  days 
of  Augustus,  and  how  he  had  caught  a  vision  of  human  brother- 
hood and  of  divine  fatherhood,  surpassing  that  which  the  Hebrew 
prophets  had  once  discerned  (p.  io6).  This  faith  he  preached 
for  a  few  years  —  till  he  incurred  the  hatred  of  his  countrymen 
and  they  put  him  to  death. 

A  Jewish  tent-maker  named  Paul,  a  man  gifted  with  pas- 
sionate eloquence  and  unquenchable  love  for  his  Master,*  passed 
far  and  wide  through  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor  and  Greece,  and 
even  to  Rome,  proclaiming  his  Master's  teaching.  He  left  be- 
hind him  a  line  of  devoted  communities  stretching  from  Palestine 
to  Rome.  A  group  of  letters  which  he  wrote  to  his  followers 
were  circulating  widely  among  them  and  were  read  with  eager- 
ness. They  are  preserved  to  us  in  the  New  Testament.  The 
slave  and  the  freedman,  the  artizan  and  craftsman,  the  humble 
and  the  despised  in  the  huge  barracks  which  sheltered  the  poor 
in  Rome,  listened  to  this  new  "  mystery  "  from  the  East,  as  they 
thought  it  to  be,  and,  as  time  passed,  multitudes  accepted  it  and 
found  joy  in  the  hopes  which  it  awakened. 

Thus  was  Christianity  launched  upon  the  great  tide  of  Roman 
life.  The  officers  of  government  often  found  these  early  con- 
verts not  only  refusing  to  acknowledge  the  divinity  of  the  Em- 
peror and  to  sacrifice  to  him,  but  also  openly  prophesying  the 
downfall  of  the  Roman  State.  They  were  therefore  more  than 
once  called  upon  to  endure  cruel  persecution.  Their  religion 
seemed  incompatible  with  good  citizenship,  since  it  forbade  them 
to  show  the  usual  respect  for  the  government.  Nevertheless 
their  numbers  steadily  grew. 


The  Roman  Emph'e  to  the  Tiiumph  of  Christianity     301 

Section  48.  Internal  Revolution  and  the  Col- 
lapse OF  Ancient  Civilization 

Meantime  there  was  steady  decline  in  the  prosperity  of  the   Marcus 
Empire  as  more  and  more  farm  lands  lay  idle ;  population  de-  and  his  great 
creased  and  the  burden  of  taxes  on  those  who  remained  2:rew  ^ff?rts  to 

°  maintain  the 

heavier.  The  able  rule  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  who  began  to  reign  Roman  state 
in  161  A.D.,  marked  the  end  of  two  centuries  of  internal  peace 
(p.  287)  which  contrast  sharply  with  the  age  that  followed  him. 
He  found  a  great  scarcity  of  money  among  the  people,  and  it 
was  increasingly  difficult  to  collect  the  taxes  necessary  to  main- 
tain the  State  and  support  the  army  with  which  he  was  strug- 
gling to  keep  back  the  incoming  hordes  of  barbarian  invasion 
on  the  northern  frontiers  (Fig.  1 1 4). 

Yet  he  found  time  amid  the  growing  anxieties  of  his  position,  Marcus 
even  as  he  sat  in  his  tent  on  a  dangerous  campaign  in  the  heart  ifghTeS  mie 
of  the  barbarous  north,  to  record  his  thoughts  and  leave  the 
world  a  little  volume  of  meditations  which  are  among  the  most 
precious  legacies  of  the  past.  His  ability  and  enlightened  states- 
manship were  only  equaled  by  the  purity  and  beauty  of  his  per- 
sonal life.  He  granted  salaries  of  six  hundred  gold  pieces  (about 
$1600)  to  the  heads  of  the  four  schools  of  philosophy  at  Athens. 
This  was  the  first  state  support  received  by  this  "  university  " 
of  Athens,  and  marked  another  effort  to  maintain  the  old  Greek 
culture  against  the  oriental  religions.  Marcus  Aurelius  was  the 
finest  spirit  among  all  the  Roman  emperors,  and  there  was 
never  another  like  him  on  the  imperial  throne. 

Commodus,  the  son  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  was  one  of  the  most  The  fearful 
detestable  in  the  long  list  of  Roman  emperors,  and  as  we  enter  of\he  third 
the  third  century  a.d.  one  such  worthless  ruler  after  another  '^^"^"^y  ^•''• 
was  set  up  by  the  army  ;  for  unfortunately  no  satisfactory  means 
of  selecting  an  emperor  had  ever  been  devised,  and  whenever 
they  wished,  the  army  elected  a  new  emperor.    Such  an  ap- 
pointee of  the  army  in  one  province  often  found  himself  con- 
fronted by  a  rival  in  another  province.    We  have  already  seen 


;o2 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Eighty 
emperors  in 
ninety  years 


Collapse 
of  ancient 
civilization 


Diocletian  ; 
the  Roman 
Empire 
becomes  an 
oriental  des- 
potism (284- 
305  A.D.) 


how  degenerate  the  army  became  (p.  288),  and  it  was  chiefly 
from  such  a  class  as  these  military  frontiersmen  that  the  Roman 
Empire  received  eighty  rulers  in  ninety  years  after  the  death 
of  the  son  of  Marcus  Aurelius.  In  order  to  gain  additional  op- 
portunity for  taxation,  one  of  them  gave  Roman  citizenship  to 
all  free  men  dwelling  in  any  community  ruled  by  Rome  (212  a.d.). 
All  distinction  between  Roman  and  non-Roman  passed  away. 
Citizenship  however  meant  nothing  which  could  better  the  situa- 
tion, as  the  troops  tossed  the  scepter  of  Rome  from  one  ignorant 
soldier-emperor  to  another. 

^^'hile  tumult  and  fighting  between  rival  emperors  hastened 
economic  decay  and  national  bankruptcy,  the  affairs  of  the 
nation  passed  from  bad  to  worse.  For  fifty  years  there  was 
no  public  order.  Life  and  property  were  nowhere  safe.  Turbu- 
lence, robbery,  and  murder  were  everywhere.  While  no  Rom.an 
subject  attempted  to  overthrow  the  Empire,  and  all  men  revered 
it  as  eternal,  nevertheless  in  this  tempest  of  anarchy  during 
the  third  century  a.d.  the  civilization  of  the  ancient  world  suf- 
fered final  collapse.  The  supremacy  of  mind  and  of  scientific 
knowledge  won  by  the  Greeks  in  the  third  century  B.C.  yielded 
to  the  reign  of  ignorance  and  superstition  in  these  social  disasters 
of  the  thi?-d  centiuy  A.D. 

The  world  which  issued  from  these  disasters  toward  300  a.d. 
under  Diocletian,  was  a  totally  different  one  from  that  which 
Augustus  and  the  Roman  Senate  had  ruled  three  centuries  be- 
fore. When  Diocletian  succeeded  in  restoring  order,  he  deprived 
the  shadowy  Senate  of  all  power,  except  for  the  municipal  gov- 
ernment of  the  city  of  Rome.  The  Roman  Emperor  thus  became 
for  the  whole  Roman  world,  what  he  had  always  been  in  Egypt, 
an  absolute  monarch  with  none  to  limit  his  power.  The  State 
had  been  completely  militarized  and  orientalized.  With  the  un- 
limited power  of  the  oriental  despot  the  Emperor  now  assumed 
also  its  outward  symbols  —  the  diadem,  the  gorgeous  robe  em- 
broidered with  pearls  and  precious  stones,  the  throne  and  foot- 
stool, at  which  all  who  came  into  his  presence  must  bow  down 


ressive 
taxation 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  TriumpJi  of  CJiristianity     303 

to  the  dust.  Thus  ended  the  long  struggle  of  democracy  which 
we  have  followed  through  so  many  centuries  of  the  career  of 
man  in  the  ancient  world. 

As  far  back  as  the  days  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  it  had  proved  Opp 
difficult  for  the  Roman  government  to  raise  enough  by  taxation 
to  maintain  itself.  The  situation  in  the  reign  of  Diocletian  was 
far  worse.  The  business  of  the  State  was  now^  in  the  hands  of 
a  vast  number  of  local  officials  graded  into  many  ranks  and 
classes.  This  multitude  and  the  huge  army  had  all  to  be  paid 
and  supported.  It  required  a  great  deal  of  money  also  to  main- 
tain the  luxurious  court  of  the  Emperor  surrounded  by  his  innum- 
erable palace  officials  and  servants,  and  to  supply  "  bread  and 
circuses  "  for  the  populace  of  the  towns  (p.  294).  All  sorts  of 
taxes  and  exactions  were  consequently  devised  by  ingenious 
officials  to  make  up  the  necessary  revenue. 

When  the  scarcity  of  coin  made  it  impossible  to  collect  the  Bad  methods 
land  tax  in  money,  the  deficit  was  taken  in  grain  or  produce 
from  the  granary  of  the  delinquent  tax  payer.  As  this  collection 
of  produce  increased,  the  tax  tended  to  become  a  mere  share  in 
the  yield  of  the  lands,  and  thus  the  Roman  Empire  sank  to  a 
primitive  system  of  taxation  already  thousands  of  years  old  in 
the  Orient  (p.  29).  The  crushing  burden  of  this  great  land 
tax,  the  Emperor's  chief  source  of  income,  was  much  increased 
by  the  bad  way  in  which  it  was  collected.  The  government  made 
a  group  of  the  richer  citizens  in  each  of  the  towns  permanently 
responsible  for  the  whole  amount  due  each  year  from  all  the 
landowners  within  their  district.  It  was  their  business  to  collect 
the  taxes  and  make  up  any  deficiency,  it  mattered  not  from 
what  cause. 

This  responsibility,  together  with  the  weight  of  the  taxes  Resulting  im- 
themselves,  ruined  so  many  landowners  that  the  government 
was  forced  to  decree  that  no  one  should  desert  his  estates  in 
order  to  escape  the  exactions.  Only  the  very  rich  could  stand 
the  drain  on  their  resources  and  even  wealthy  families  were  im- 
poverished.   I'he  middle  class  sank  into  poverty  and  despair  and 


poverishment 


304 


Ontlijics  of  European  History 


Disappear- 
ance of 
liberty  and 
free  citizen- 
ship 


many  a  worthy  man  secretly  fled  from  his  lands  to  become  a  wan- 
dering beggar,  or  even  to  take  up  a  life  of  robbery  and  violence. 
In  this  way  the  Empire  lost  just  that  prosperous  class  of  citizens 
who  should  have  been  the  leaders  in  business  enterprises. 

Under  this  oriental  despotism  the  liberty  for  which  men  had 
striven  so  long  disappeared  in  Europe,  and  the  once  free  Roman 
citizen  had  no  independent  life  of  his  own.  Even  his  wages  and 
the  prices  of  the  goods  he  bought  or  sold  were  as  far  as  possi- 
ble fixed  for  him  by  the  Emperor,  For  the  will  of  the  Emperor 
had  now  become  law,  and  his  decrees  were  dispatched  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Roman  dominions.  His  in- 
numerable officials  kept  an  eye  upon  even  the  humblest  citizen. 
They  watched  the  grain  dealers,  butchers,  and  bakers,  and  saw 
to  it  that  they  properly  supplied  the  public  and  never  deserted 
their  occupation.  If  the  government  could  have  had  its  way,  it 
would  have  had  every  one  belong  to  a  definite  class  of  society, 
and  his  children  after  him.  In  some  cases  it  forced  the  son  to 
follow^  the  profession  of  his  father.  It  kept  the  unruly  poor  in 
the  towns  quiet  by  furnishing  them  with  bread;  and  sometimes 
with  wine,  meat,  and  clothes.  It  continued  to  provide  amuse- 
ment for  them  by  expensive  entertainments,  such  as  races  and 
gladiatorial  combats.  In  a  word,  the  Roman  government  now 
attempted  to  regulate  almost  every  interest  in  life. 

Staggering  under  his  crushing  burden  of  taxes,  in  a  state 
which  was  practically  bankrupt,  the  citizen  of  every  class  had  now 
become  a  mere  cog  in  the  vast  machinery  of  the  government. 
He  had  no  other  function  than  to  toil  for  the  State,  which  ex- 
acted so  much  of  the  fruit  of  his  labor  that  he  was  fortunate 
if  it  proved  barely  possible  for  him  to  survive  on  the  balance. 
As  a  mere  toiler  for  the  State,  he  was  finally  where  the  peasant 
on  the  Nile  had  been  for  thousands  of  years.  The  Emperor 
had  become  a  Pharaoh,  and  the  Roman  Empire  a  colossal  Egypt 
of  ancient  days. 

Such  a  complete  transformation  of  State  and  society  in  the 
Roman  Empire  was  accomplished  only  by  unlimited  application 


Tlie  Rovian  Empire  to  tJie  TriinnpJi  of  Christianity     305 

of  the  most  brutal  force.  Diocletian  increased  the  size  of  the  The  army 
army  fourfold  in  spite  of  the  additional  expense  and  the  in-  barbarians 
creased  burden  of  taxation.  A  vicious  circle  was  thus  set  up. 
More  troops  cost  more  money,  but  they  also  meant  greater 
ability  to  suppress  disorders  and  collect  taxes.  The  decreasing 
population  of  the  Empire  was  insufficient  to  furnish  the  troops 
for  the  increased  army.  Diocletian  w^as  obliged  to  allow  whole 
tribes  of  German  barbarians  to  cross  the  border  as  military 
colonies  furnishing  troops  for  his  great  army.  Thus  the  bar- 
barians were  enlisted  in  the  Roman  legions  to  help  keep  out 
their  fellow  Germans.  Julius  Caesar  was  the  first  to  give  them 
a  place  among  his  soldiers.  This  custom  became  more  and  more 
common,  until,  finally,  whole  armies  were  German,  entire  tribes 
being  enlisted  under  their  own  chiefs.  Some  of  the  Germans 
rose  to  be  distinguished  generals  ;  others  attained  important 
positions  as  officials  of  the  government. 

In  order  to  replenish  the  shrinking  population  likewise,  great   Population  of 
numbers  of  the  German  tribes  were  encouraged  to  settle  within  ^nd  the^'^^ 
the    Empire,   where   they   became   coloni.     Constantine    (306-   ^g^j.^'J^^ns 
337  A.D.)  is  said  to  have  called  in  three  hundred  thousand  of 
a  single  people.    In  this  way  it  came  about  that  a  great  many 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Roman  Empire  were  Germans  before 
the  great  invasions,  and  the  line  dividing  the  citizens  of  the 
Roman    Empire    from    the    barbarians    was    already   growing 
indistinct. 

As  the  Empire  declined  in  strength  and  prosperity  and  was  Decline  of 
gradually  permeated  by  the  barbarians,  its  art  and  literature  and  art 
rapidly  degenerated.  The  buildings  and  monuments  of  Rome 
after  Marcus  Aurelius  incline  toward  tawdry  vulgarity  in  design 
and  barbarous  crudity  in  execution.  The  writings  of  the  deca- 
dent Romans  of  this  age  fell  far  below  the  standard  of  the  great 
literary  men  of  the  golden  age  of  Augustus.  Nor  did  the  readers 
of  the  time  demand  anything  better.  The  distinction  of  Cicero's 
clear  style  lost  its  charm  for  the  readers  of  the  fourth  and  fifth 
centuries,  and  a  flowery  kind  of  rhetoric  took  its  place.    No 


3o6 


Out  lilies  of  Eh  rope  a  }i  History 


more  great  men  of  letters  arose.  Few  of  those  who  understand 
and  enjoy  Latin  literature  to-day  would  think  of  reading  for 
pleasure  any  of  the  poetry  or  prose  written  in  the  later  centuries 
of  the  Roman  Empire. 

During  the  three  hundred  years  before  the  barbarian  inva- 
sions those  who  studied  at  all  did  not  ordinarily  take  the  trouble 
to  read  the  best  books  of  the  earlier  Greek  and  Roman  writers, 
but  relied  upon  mere  collections  of  quotations,  and  got  their 
information  from  textbooks  put  together  by  often  ignorant 
compilers.  These  textbooks  the  Middle  Ages  inherited  and 
continued  to  use.  The  great  Greek  writers  were  forgotten  alto- 
gether, and  only  a  few  of  the  better  known  Latin  authors  like 
Cicero,  Horace,  and  Virgil  continued  to  be  copied  and  read. 


Section  49.    The  Triumph  of  Christianity 

Like  so  many  of  the  emperors  of  his  time  Diocletian  had 
risen  from  the  ranks  of  provincial  troops  and  felt  little  attach- 
ment for  the  city  of  Rome,  The  pressure  of  dangerous  enemies 
on  the  oriental  frontier  and  the  threatening  flood  of  German 
barbarians  along  the  lov/er  Danube  kept  him  much  in  the  East, 
and  still  further  detached  him  from  Rome.  Similar  conditions  led 
Constantine  to  forsake  Rome  altogether,  to  shift  his  residence 
eastward,  and  to  establish  a  new  seat  of  government  on  the 
Bosporus  at  the  old  Greek  city  of  Byzantium  (see  map,  p.  1 46). 
The  Emperor  stripped  many  an  ancient  city  of  its  great  monu- 
ments in  order  to  secure  materials  for  the  beautification  of  his 
splendid  residence.  Some  of  these  monuments  from  older  places 
still  stand  in  Constantinople  (Fig.  130).  By  330  a.d.  the  new 
capital  on  the  Bosporus  was  a  magnificent  monumental  city, 
whence  the  Emperor  might  overlook  both  Europe  and  Asia. 

Meantime  one  of  the  most  important  changes  in  the  whole 
career  of  man  was  slowly  taking  place  within  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. The  long  struggle  of  Christianity  among  the  older  reli- 
gions of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Orient  (p.  300)  had  steadily 


TJic  Roman  Empire  to  the  TriumpJi  of  CJiristianity     307 

continued.  The  first  Christians  looked  for  the  speedy  return  of 
Christ  before  their  own  generation  should  pass  away.  Since  all 
were  filled  with  enthusiasm  for  the  Gospel  and  eagerly  awaited 


^^ 


i^'-^^fmw^'/. 


i 


—_2^ i i .  At\  J. -^  4  t\/%^ 


Fig.  130.   Ancient  Monuments  in  Constaxtinople 

The  obelisk  in  the  foreground  (nearly  one  hundred  feet  high)  was  first 
set  up  in  Thebes,  Egypt,  by  the  conqueror  Thutmose  III  (p.  46) ;  it 
was  erected  here  by  the  Roman  Emperor  Theodosius  (p.  309).  The 
small  spiral  column  at  the  right  is  the  base  of  a  bronze  tripod  set  up  by 
the  Greeks  at  Delphi  (Fig.  82)  in  commemoration  of  their  victory  over 
the  Persians  at  Platsea  (p.  177).  The  names  of  thirty-one  Greek  cities 
which  took  part  in  the  battle  are  still  to  be  read,  engraved  on  this  base. 
These  monuments  of  ancient  oriental  and  Greek  supremacy  stand  in 
what  was  the  Roman  horse-race  course  when  the  earlier  Greek  city  of 
Byzantium  became  the  eastern  capital  of  Rome  (p.  306).  Finally,  the 
great  mosque  behind  the  obelisk,  with  its  slender  minarets,  represents 
the  triumph  of  Islam  under  the  Turks,  who  took  the  city  in  1453  a.d. 

the  last  day,  they  did  not  feel  the  need  for  much  organization. 
But  as  time  went  on  the  Christian  communities  greatly  increased 
in  size,  and  many  persons  joined  them  who  had  litde  or  none 
of  the  original  earnestness  and  devotion.  It  became  necessary 
to  develop  a  regular  system  of  church  government  in  order  to 


3o8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  "  Cath- 
olic," or 
universal, 
church 


Organization 
of  the  Church 
before  Con- 


Bishops, 
priests,  and 
archbishops 


Constantine 
favors  the 
Church 


The  end  of 
the  old 
religions 


control  the  sinful  ahd  expel  those  who  brought  disgrace  upon 
their  religion  by  notoriously  bad  conduct. 

Gradually  the  followers  of  Christ  came  to  believe  in  a 
"  Catholic  "  —  that  is,  a  universal  —  church  which  embraced 
all  the  groups  of  true  believers  in  Christ,  wherever  they  might 
be.  To  this  one  universal  church  all  must  belong  who  hoped 
to  be  saved.-^  A  sharp  distinction  was  already  made  between 
the  officers  of  the  Church,  who  were  called  the  clergy,  and  the 
people,  or  laity.  To  the  clergy  was  committed  the  government 
of  the  Church,  as  well  as  the  teaching  of  its  members.  In  each 
of  the  Roman  cities  was  a  bishop,  and  at  the  head  of  each  of  the 
country  communities  a  priest,  who  had  derived  his  name  from 
the  original  elders  mentioned  in  the  New  Testament.^  It  was 
not  unnatural  that  the  bishops  in  the  chief  towns  of  the  Roman 
provinces  should  be  especially  influential  in  church  affairs. 
They  came  to  be  called  archbishops,  and  might  summon  the 
bishops  of  the  province  to  a  council  to  decide  important  matters. 

Thus  Christianity,  once  the  faith  of  the  weak  and  the  de- 
spised, gained  a  strong  organization  and  became  politically 
powerful.  The  result  w^as  that  in  311  the  Roman  Emperor 
Galerius^  issued  a  decree  placing  the  Christian  religion  upon 
the  same  legal  footing  as  the  worship  of  the  Roman  gods. 
Constantine,  the  first  Christian  emperor,  strictly  enforced  this 
edict.  His  successors  soon  began  to  issue  laws  which  gave  the 
Christian  clergy  important  privileges  and  forbade  the  worship 
of  the  old  pagan  gods.  The  splendid  temples  of  the  gods,  which 
fringed  the  Mediterranean  (cut,  p.  166)  and  extended  far  up  the 
Nile  into  inner  Africa,  were  then  closed  and  deserted,  as  they 
are  to-day  (Fig.  28,  Plate  III,  p.  180). 


1  "  Whoever  separates  himself  from  the  Church,"  writes  St.  Cyprian  (died 
258)  "is  separated  from  the  promises  of  the  Church.  .  .  .  He  is  an  alien,  he  is 
profane,  he  is  an  enemy ;  he  can  no  longer  have  God  for  his  father  who  has  not 
the  Church  for  his  mother.  If  any  one  could  escape  who  was  outside  the  Ark  of 
Noah,  so  also  may  he  escape  who  shall  be  outside  the  bounds  of  the  Church." 
See  Readings  in  European  Histoij^  chap.  ii. 

2  Our  word  "  priest "  comes  from  the  Greek  word  presbyter,  meaning  "  elder," 

3  One  of  the  emperors  ruling  jointly  with  Constantine, 


The  Rouian  Empire  to  the  Triicmpk  of  C/wistianity     309 

In  the  last  book  of  the  Theodosian  Code  —  a  great  collection  The  church 
of  the  laws  of  the  Empire,  which  was  completed  in  438  —  all  Jjosian  Code 
the  emperors'  decrees  are  to  be  found  which  relate  to  the  Chris- 
tian Church  and  the  clergy.  We  find  that  the  clergy,  in  view  of 
their  holy  duties,  were  exempted  from  certain  burdensome  gov- 
ernment offices  and  from  some  of  the  taxes  which  the  laity  had 
to  pay.  They  were  also  permitted  to  receive  bequests.  The 
emperors  themselves  built  churches  and  helped  the  Church  in 
many  ways  (see  below,  section  52).  Their  example  was  fol- 
lowed by  rulers  and  private  individuals  all  through  the  Middle 
Ages,  so  that  the  Church  became  incredibly  wealthy  and  en- 
joyed a  far  greater  income  than  any  state  of  Europe.  The 
clergy  were  permitted  to  try  certain  law  cases,  and  they  them- 
selves had  the  privilege  of  being  tried  in  their  own  church  courts 
for  minor  criminal  offenses. 

The  Theodosian  Code  makes  it  iinlaivful  for  any  one  to  differ  Heresy 
from  the  beliefs  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Those  who  dared  to  as  crime 
disagree  with  the  teachings  of  the  Church  were  called  he7'etics. 
If  heretics  ventured  to  come  together,  their  meetings  were  to  be 
broken  up  and  the  teachers  heavily  fined.  Houses  in  which  the 
doctrines  of  the  heretics  were  taught  were  to  be  confiscated  by 
the  government.  The  books  containing  their  teachings  were  to 
be  sought  out  with  the  utmost  care  and  burned  under  the  eyes 
of  the  magistrate ;  and  if  any  one  was  convicted  of  concealing 
a  heretical  book,  he  was  to  suffer  capital  punishment. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  very  soon  after  the  Christian  Church 
was  recognized  by  the  Roman  government,  it  induced  the  em- 
jjerors  to  grant  the  clergy  particular  favors,  to  destroy  the 
pagan  temples  and  prohibit  pagan  worship,  and,  finally,  to 
persecute  all  those  who  ventured  to  disagree  with  the  orthodox 
teachings  of  the  Church. 

We  shall  find  that  the  governments  in  the  Middle  Ages,  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  the  Roman  emperors,  continued  to  grant 
the  clergy  special  privileges  and  to  persecute  heretics,  often  in 
a  very  cruel  manner  (see  below,  section  82). 


3IO 


Outlines  of  liiiropcan  History 


In  these  provisions  of  the  Thcodosian  Code  the  later  medie- 
val Church  is  clearly  foreshadowed.  The  imperial  government 
in  the  West  was  soon  overthrown  by  the  barbarian  conquerors, 
but  the  Catholic  Church  converted  and  ruled  these  conquerors. 
When  the  officers  of  the  Empire  deserted  their  posts,  the  bishops 
stayed  to  meet  the  oncoming  invader.  They  continued  to  rep- 
resent the  old  civilization  and  ideas  of  order.  It  was  the  Church 
that  kept  the  Latin  language  alive  among  those  who  knew  only 
a  rude  German  dialect.  It  was  the  Church  that  maintained  some 
little  education  even  in  the  times  of  greatest  ignorance,  for  with- 
out the  ability  to  read  Latin  the  priests  could  not  have  performed 
the  religious  services  and  the  bishops  could  not  have  carried  on 
their  correspondence  with  one  another. 


Retrospect 


Final  orien- 
talization  of 
the  Medi- 
terranean 


Section  50.    Retrospect 

As  we  stand  here  at  the  close  of  the  career  of  ancient  civili- 
zation, we  may  look  back  for  a  moment  and  glance  over  the 
vast  vista  traversed  by  early  man.  For  some  fifty  thousand 
years  he  struggled  upward  through  the  Stone  Age,  from  which 
he  emerged  into  civilized  life  for  the  first  time  in  the  Orient. 
There  we  found  the  first  home  of  civilization  in  the  valley  of 
the  Nile,  where  it  arose  over  five  thousand  years  ago,  appear- 
ing later  also  along  the  lower  Euphrates.  From  these  early 
homes  it  contributed  for  ages  to  the  civilization  of  the  Medi- 
terranean world,  till  Greek  genius  arose  to  assert  its  own  inde- 
pendent individuality  and  the  supremacy  of  mind.  At  Salamis 
and  Marathon  Hellas  repulsed  the  sovereignty  of  the  East  and 
of  eastern  ideals  of  government  and  thought.  That  victory  was 
not  in  vain,  for  it  stirred  free  Athens,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the 
greatest  intellectual  achievements  in  her  history.  But  we  have 
said  before  that  the  repulse  of  Persia  was  not  final  (p.  237). 

The  tide  from  the  East  could  not  be  stayed  by  a  successful 
battle  or  two.  It  swept  through  the  Mediterranean  with  in- 
creasing power,  till  Rome,  the  last  great  state  of  the  ancient 


The  Roman  Empire  to  the  TriiimpJi  of  Christianity     3 1 1 

world,  was  conquered  by  the  civilization  of  that  Orient  which 
she  despised.  Her  ruler  became  an  oriental  sultan  ;  his  methods 
of  government  and  administration  were  orientalized ;  oriental 
religion  and  methods  of  thought  were  supreme;  and  at  Con- 
stantinople life  and  art  were  also  oriental.  By  Rome  oriental 
monarchy  was  introduced  into  Europe,  where  it  later  so  pro- 
foundly affected  the  history  of  our  ancestors,  and  in  the  Roman 
Empire  free  citizenship  perished.  Thus  the  final  organization  of 
Rome  (in  spite  of  the  Republic  out  of  which  it  grew)  has  proved 
one  of  the  great  links  between  the  world  to  which  we  belong 
and  the  despotism  of  the  early  Orient  behind  Rome. 

One  leading  element  in  the  organization  of  Rome  always  The  greatest 
remained  her  own,  and  this  was  law.  In  Roman  law,  still  a  Rome 
power  in  modern  government,  w^e  have  the  great  creation  of 
Roman  genius,  which  has  more  profoundly  affected  the  later 
world  than  any  other  Roman  institution.  Another  great  office 
of  Rome  was  the  universal  spread  of  that  international  civili- 
zation which  had  been  brought  forth  by  Greece  in  contact 
with  the  Orient.  She  gave  to  that  civilization  the  far-reach- 
ing organization  which  under  the  Greeks  it  had  lacked.  That 
organization,  though  completely  transformed  into  oriental  des- 
potism, endured  for  five  centuries  and  withstood  the  tide  of 
barbarian  invasion  from  the  grasslands  of  the  north  (p.  86), 
which  would  otherwise  have  overwhelmed  the  disorganized 
Greek  world  long  before.  Herein  lies  much  of  the  significance 
of  Rome.  The  Roman  State  was  the  last  bulwark  of  civilization 
intrenched  on  the  Mediterranean  against  the  Indo-European 
hordes  pouring  in  from  those  same  northern  pastures,  where 
the  ancestors  of  Greek  and  Roman  alike  had  once  fed  their 
flocks.  But  the  bulwark,  though  shaken,  did  not  fall  because  of 
hostile  assaults  from  without.  It  fell  because  of  decay  within, 
and  because  it  could  not  keep  itself  impervious  to  the  tide  of 
life  from  the  East. 

After  the  foundation  of  Constantinople  the  Roman  Empire 
for  a  time  remained  one  in  law,  government,  and  culture.   Even 


12 


021 1 lines  of  European  History 


Futile  effort 
to  maintain 
the  unity  of 
the  Empire 

There  were 
often  two 
emperors,  but 
only  o)ic 
Empire 


The  end  of 
the  ancient 
world 


Eastern 
Empire 
lasts  until 
1453  A.D. 


before  the  death  of  Diocletian,  however,  there  was  a  tendency 
for  the  eastern  and  western  portions  to  drift  apart.  Constantine 
had  established  his  sole  supremacy  only  after  a  long  struggle 
with  his  rivals.  Thereafter  there  were  often  two  emperors,  one 
in  the  west  and  one  in  the  east,  but  they  were  supposed  to 
govern  one  empire  conjointly  and  in  "  unanimity."  New  laws 
were  to  be  accepted  by  both.  The  writers  of  the  time  do  not 
speak  of  two  states  but  continue  to  refer  to  "  the  Empire,"  as 
if  the  administration  were  still  in  the  hands  of  one  ruler.  Indeed, 
the  idea  of  one  government  for  all  civilized  mankind  did  not 
disappear  but  continued  to  influence  men  during  the  whole  of 
the  Middle  Ages. 

The  foundation  of  Constantinople  and  the  establishment  of 
a  western  emperor  at  Rome  left  the  venerable  city  dangerously 
isolated ;  it  was  a  fatal  step  toward  the  surrender  of  Rome  and 
the  West  to  the  barbarians,  who  were  already  gaining  possession 
of  the  Empire  by  peaceable  migration  (p.  305).  From  the  bar- 
barism which  engulfed  it  in  the  fifth  century  a.d.  the  Roman 
west  did  not  emerge  for  centuries.  The  Roman  Empire  sur- 
viving at  Constantinople  belonged,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the  East 
and  was  essentially  an  oriental  state.  This  was  the  outcome  of 
the  long  struggle  of  civilization  in  the  Mediterranean.  Its  finest 
fruits — democracy,  free  citizenship,  creative  art,  and  independent 
thought  unshackled  by  theology — had  perished. 

Although  it  was  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Empire  that  the 
barbarians  first  got  a  permanent  foothold,  the  emperors  at 
Constantinople  were  able  to  keep  a  portion  of  the  old  posses- 
sions of  the  Empire  under  their  rule  for  centuries  after  the 
Germans  had  completely  conquered  the  West.  When  at  last 
the  eastern  capital  of  the  Empire  fell,  it  was  not  into  the  hands 
of  the  Germans,  but  into  those  of  the  Turks,  who  have  held  it 
ever  since  1453  (Fig.  130). 

There  will  be  no  room  in  this  volume  to  follow  the  histoiy  of 
the  Eastern  Empire,  although  it  cannot  be  entirely  ignored  in 
studying  western   Europe.     Its  language  and  civilization   had 


The  Roman  Empii'e  to  tJic  Triinnph  of  Christianity    313 

always  been  Greek,  and  owing  to  this  and  the  influence  of  the  Constanti- 

Orient,  its  civilization  offers  a  marked  contrast  to  that  of  the  mTst^'wealthy 

Latin  West,  which  w^as  adopted  by  the  Germans.     Learning  of  ^"^^  populous 

a  mechanical  type  never  died  out  in  the  East  as  it  did  in  the  Europe  dur- 

1  1  11-1-  .         ing  the  early 

West,  nor  did  art  reach  so  low  an  ebb.  ror  some  centuries  Middle  Ages 
after  the  break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  West,  the  capital 
of  the  Eastern  Empire  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  the 
largest  and  most  wealthy  city  of  Europe.  Within  its  walls  could 
be  found  a  refinement  and  civilization  which  had  almost  dis- 
appeared in  the  West,  and  its  beautiful  buildings,  its  parks,  and 
paved  streets  filled  travelers  from  the  West  with  astonishment. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  45.  Recount  the  career  of  Octavian.  Did  he  wish  to 
destroy  the  Republic  ?  Describe  the  office  which  he  wished  to  hold 
under  it.  What  kind  of  an  adjustment  of  power  resulted?  Could  it 
be  permanent.?  What  was  the  foreign  policy  of  Augustus.?  Define 
the  extent  of  the  Empire  and  name  some  of  the  peoples  it  included. 

What  is  the  distance  from  the  Atlantic  coast  of  Spain  to  the 
Euphrates,  and  how  far  would  a  line  of  this  length  reach  across 
the  United  States.?  Describe  the  condition  of  the  army  at  this  time; 
of  the  Empire  as  a  whole.  What  did  Augustus  attempt  to  restore  ? 
Give  some  account  of  Horace  and  Virgil.  Contrast  Greek  and 
Roman  literature.  Discuss  philosophy  in  Augustan  Rome.  Give 
some  account  of  Roman  law. 

Section  46.  What  conditions  did  a  wealthy  Roman  traveler  find 
during  the  first  century  of  the  Roman  Empire.?  in  Hellas.?  in  the 
East?  in  E!gypt?  in  the  W^est?  How  long  did  the  peace  established 
by  Augustus  last?  Mention  the  chief  causes  of  decline  during  this 
period. 

Describe  a  Roman  villa.  Discuss  slavery.  Define  coloiii,  and 
compare  them  with  slaves.  What  was  happening  to  the  population 
of  the  Empire  as  a  whole  ?  Describe  city  life.  W^hat  oriental  influences 
are  discernible  ? 

Section  47.  Discuss  the  oriental  religions  in  the  Mediterranean. 
Describe  the  spread  of  Christianity. 

Section  48.  Whose  reign  marked  the  end  of  the  two  centuries 
of  peace  ?    Give  an  account  of  this  reign.   What  followed  ?    Describe 


314  Gutliiics  of  European  History 

the  revolution  of  the  third  century  a.ij.  What  happened  to  the 
highest  civilization  ?  What  kind  of  a  Roman  state  issued  from  this 
revolution  ? 

Who  organized  it  ?  What  was  now  the  character  of  taxation  ? 
What  was  the  result?  Describe  the  army  under  Diocletian  and 
later.    Discuss  literature  and  art  under  the  declining  Roman  Empire. 

Section  49.  Where  was  the  Emperor's  new  residence  and  who 
founded  it  1  Tell  what  religion  now  triumphed  and  how  it  came  about. 
How  was  the  Christian  Church  organized  and  what  were  bishops 
and  archbishops  .^ 

What  privileges  are  granted  to  the  Christian  clergy  in  the  Theo- 
dosian  Code  ?  Define  heresy.  How  were  heretics  treated  according 
to  Roman  law.^ 

Sectiox  50.  Sketch  the  career  of  man  to  the  fall  of  ancient 
civilization.  What  influences  were  the  leading  ones  in  the  Eastern 
Empire?  What  were  the  greatest  offices  of  Rome?  Discuss  the 
unity  of  the  Empire  after  the  founding  of  Constantinople.  What 
happened  to  Rome  and  the  West?  How  long  did  the  Eastern 
Empire  survive,  and  what  was  it  like? 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  GERMAN  INVASIONS  AND  THE  BREAK-UP  OF  THE 
ROMAN  EMPIRE 

Section  51.    Founding  of  Kingdoms  by  Barbarian 
Chiefs 


It  is  impossible  to  divide  the  past  into  distinct,  clearly  defined 
periods  and  prove  that  one  age  ended  and  another  began  in  a  par- 
ticular year,  such  as  333  B.C.,  or  1453  a.d,,  or  1789.  Men  do  not 
and  cannot  change  their  habits  and  ways  of  doing  things  all  at 
once,  no  matter  what  happens.  It  is  true  that  a  single  event, 
such  as  an  important  battle  w^hich  results  in  the  loss  of  a  nation's 
independence,  may  produce  an  abrupt  change  in  the  government. 
This  in  turn  may  either  encourage  or  discourage  trade  and 
manufactures,  and  modify  the  language  and  alter  the  interests 
of  a  people.  But  these  deeper  changes  take  place  only  very 
gradually.  After  a  battle  or  a  revolution  the  farmer  will  sow 
and  reap  in  his  old  way ;  the  artisan  will  take  up  his  familiar 
tasks,  and  the  merchant  his  buying  and  selling.  The  scholar 
will  study  and  write  as  he  formerly  did,  and  the  household  will 
go  on  under  the  new  government  just  as  it  did  under  the  old. 

3'5 


Impossibility 
of  dividing 
the  past  into 
clearly  de- 
fined periods 


All  general 
changes  take 
place  gradu- 
ally 


3i6 


Outlines  of  European  Histoiy 


The  unity  or 
continuity  of 
history 


General 
changes  do 
not  occur  on 
fixed  dates 


Meaning  of 
the  term 
"  Middle 
Ages  " 


The  Germans 
belonged  to 
the  Indo- 
European 
peoples 


So  a  change  in  government  affects  the  habits  of  a  people  but 
slowly  in  any  case,  and  it  may  leave  them  quite  unaltered. 

This  tendency  of  mankind  to  do,  in  general,  this  year  v^hat 
it  did  last,  in  spite  of  changes  in  some  one  department  of  life, — 
such  as  substituting  a  president  for  a  king,  traveling  by  rail  in- 
stead of  on  horseback,  or  getting  the  news  from  a  newspaper 
instead  of  from  a  neighbor,  —  results  in  what  is  called  the  unity 
or  co?itinuity  of  history.  The  truth  that  no  sudden  change  has 
ever  taken  place  in  all  the  customs  of  a  people,  and  that  it  can- 
not, in  the  nature  of  things,  take  place,  is  perhaps  the  most 
fundamental  lesson  that  history  teaches. 

Historians  sometimes  seem  to  forget  this  principle,  when  they 
undertake  to  begin  and  end  their  books  at  precise  dates.  We 
find  histories  of  Europe  from  476  to  918,  from  1270  to  1492, 
as  if  the  accession  of  a  capable  German  king  in  918,  or  the 
death  of  a  famous  French  king  in  1270,  or  the  discovery  of 
America  in  1492,  marked  ?i  general  change  in  European  affairs. 
In  reality,  however,  no  general  change  took  place  at  these  dates 
or  in  any  other  single  year. 

We  cannot,  therefore,  hope  to  fix  any  year  or  event  which  may 
properly  be  taken  as  the  beginning  of  that  long  period  which 
followed  the  break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  western  Europe 
and  which  is  commonly  called  the  Middle  Ages.  Beyond  the 
northern  and  eastern  boundaries  of  the  Roman  Empire,  w^hich 
embraced  the  whole  civilized  world  from  the  Euphrates  to  Britain, 
mysterious  peoples  moved  about  w^hose  history  before  they  came 
into  occasional  contact  with  the  Romans  is  practically  unknown. 

These  Germans,  or  "  Barbarians  "  as  the  Romans  called  them, 
belonged  to  the  same  great  group  of  peoples  to  which  the  Per- 
sians, Greeks,  and  Romans  belonged  —  the  Indo-European  race 
(see  above,  pp.  86  ff.).  They  were  destined,  as  their  relatives 
had  earlier  done,  to  take  possession  of  the  lands  of  others  and 
help  build  up  a  different  civilization  from  that  they  found.  They 
had  first  begun  to  make  trouble  about  a  hundred  years  before 
Christ,  when  a  great  army  of  them  was  defeated  by  the  Roman 


The  German  Invasions  317 

general  Marius.  Julius  Caesar  narrates  in  polished  Latin  how 
fifty  years  later  he  drove  back  other  bands.  Five  hundred  years 
elapsed,  however,  before  German  chieftains  succeeded  in  found- 
ing kingdoms  within  the  boundaries  of  the  Empire.  With  their 
establishment  the  Roman  government  in  western  Europe  m.ay  be 
said  to  have  come  to  an  end  and  the  Middle  Ages  to  have  begun. 

Yet  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  this  means  Most  medie- 
that  the  Roman  civilization  suddenly  disappeared  at  this  time,  ^e  foundTn*^ 
Long  before  the  German  conquest,  art  and  literature  had  begun   "^^^  ^^}^  ^°" 

^  ^  °  man  Empire 

to  decline  toward  the  level  that  they  reached  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
Many  of  the  ideas  and  conditions  which  prevailed  after  the  com- 
ing of  the  barbarians  were  common  enough  before.  Even  the 
ignorance  and  strange  ideas  which  we  associate  particularly  with 
the  Middle  Ages  are  to  be  found  in  the  later  Roman  Empire. 

The  term  "  Middle  Ages "  will  be  used  in  this  volume  to 
mean,  roughly  speaking,  the  period  of  over  a  thousand  years 
that  elapsed  between  the  fifth  century,  when  the  disorder  of  the 
barbarian  invasions  was  becoming  general,  and  the  opening  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  when  Europe  was  well  on  its  way  to  recover 
all  that  had  been  lost  since  the  break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

Previous  to  the  year  375  the  attempts  of  the  Germans  to   The  Huns 
penetrate  into  the  Roman  Empire  appear  to  have  been  due  to   Goths  into 
their  love  of  adventure,  their  hope  of  plundering  their  civilized   ^^^  Empu-e 
neighbors,  or  the  need  of  new  lands  for  their  increasing  num- 
bers.   And  the  Romans,  by  means  of  their  armies,  their  walls, 
and  their  guards,  had  up  to  this  time  succeeded  in  preventing 
the  barbarians  from  violently  occupying  Roman  territory.    But 
suddenly  a  new  force  appeared  in  the  rear  of  the  Germans 
which  thrust  some  of  them  across  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
Empire.    The  Huns,  a  Mongolian  folk  from  central  Asia,  swept 
down  upon  the  Goths,  who  were  a  German  tribe  settled  upon 
the  Danube,  and  forced  a  part  of  them  to  seek  shelter  across 
the  river,  within  the  limits  of  the  Empire. 

Here  they  soon  fell  out  with  the  Roman  officials,  and  a  great 
battle  was  fought  at  Adrianople   in  378  in  which  the   Goths 


318 


Outlines  of  EuivpCLVi  History 


Battle  of 
Adrianople, 


Alaric  takes 
Rome,  410 


St.  Augus- 
tine's City 
of  God 


West  Goths 
settle  in 
southern 
Gaul  and 
Spain 


defeated  and  slew  the  Roman  emperor,  Valens.  The  Germans 
had  now  not  only  broken  through  the  boundaries  of  the  Empire^ 
but  they  had  also  learned  that  they  could  defeat  the  Roman 
legions.  The  battle  of  Adrianople  may  therefore  be  said  to 
mark  the  beginning  of  the  conquest  of  the  western  part  of  the 
Empire  by  the  Germans.  For  some  years,  however,  after  the 
battle  of  Adrianople  the  various  bands  of  West  Goths  —  or 
Visigoths,  as  they  are  often  called  —  were  induced  to  accept  the 
terms  of  peace  offered  by  the  emperor's  officials,  and  some  of 
the  Goths  agreed  to  serve  as  soldiers  in  the  Roman  armies. 

Among  the  Germans  who  succeeded  in  getting  an  important 
position  in  the  Roman  army  was  Alaric,  but  he  appears  to  have 
become  dissatisfied  with  the  treatment  he  received  from  the  Em- 
peror. He  therefore  collected  an  army,  of  which  his  countrymen, 
the  West  Goths,  formed  a  considerable  part,  and  set  out  for  Italy, 
and  finally  decided  to  march  on  Rome  itself.  The  Eternal  City 
fell  into  his  hands  in  410  and  was  plundered  by  his  followers. 

Although  Alaric  did  not  destroy  the  city,  or  even  seriously 
damage  it,  the  fact  that  Rome  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  an 
invading  army  was  a  notable  disaster.  The  pagans  explained  it 
on  the  ground  that  the  old  gods  were  angry  because  so  many 
people  had  deserted  them  and  become  Christians.  St.  Augustine, 
in  his  famous  book,  The  City  of  God,  took  much  pains  to  prove 
that  the  Roman  gods  had  never  been  able  on  previous  occasions 
to  prevent  disaster  to  their  worshipers,  and  that  Christianity  could 
not  be  held  responsible  for  the  troubles  of  the  time. 

Alaric  died  before  he  could  find  a  satisfactory  spot  for  his 
people  to  settle  upon  permanently.  After  his  death  the  West 
Goths  wandered  into  Gaul,  and  then  into  Spain.  Here  they 
came  upon  the  Vandals,  another  German  tribe,  who  had 
crossed  the  Rhine  four  years  before  Alaric  had  captured 
Rome.  For  three  years  they  had  devastated  Gaul  and  then  had 
moved  down  into  Spain.  For  a  time  after  the  arrival  in  Spain  of 
the  West  Goths,  there  was  war  between  them  and  the  Vandals. 
The  West  Goths  seem  to  have  got  the  best  of  their  rivals,  for 


W  N) 


X^I5$ 


Xolgi 


otttS 


X^ 


S  B  A 


h       R  o  ^    i 

i  AclrAan(5ple/-V 


C:^^^  •• 


^     -4      jv 


E     ^ 


4    ^ 


EXELANATION.: 

LIMITS  OF  ATTILA'S 
E^EMPIRE  ABOUT  450 
'-■  VANDALS 
"■"WEST  GOTHS 
"";_  EAST  GOTHS 

FRANKS 
"^   SAXONS  AND  ANGLES 


Al«xau(lri3 


^^ 


from  Green wicl) 


The  German  Invasions 


319 


the  A^andals  determined  to  move  on  across  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar 
into  northern  Africa,  where  they  established  a  kingdom  and  con- 
quered   the    neigh- 
boring islands  in  the 
Mediterranean  (see 
map,  p.  323). 

Having  rid  them- 
selves of  the  Van- 
dals, the  West  Goths 
took  possession  of  a 
great  part  of  the  Span- 
ish peninsula,  and 
this  they  added  to 
their  conquests  across 
the  Pyrenees  in  Gaul, 
so  that  their  kingdom 
extended  from  the 
river  Loire  to  the 
Strait  of  Gibraltar. 

It  is  unnecessary 
to  follow  the  con- 
fused history  of  the 
movements  of  the 
innumerable  bands 
of  restless  barbari- 
ans who  wandered 
about  Europe  dur- 
ing the  fifth  century. 
Scarcely  any  part 
of  western  Europe 
was  left  unmolested; 
even  Britain wascon- 
quered  by  German 
tribes,  the  Angles 
and  Saxons. 


Kingdom  of 
the  Vandals 
in  Africa 


Fig.  131.  Roman  Mausoleum  at  St.-Remy 

The  Roman  town  of  Glanum  (now  called  St.- 
Remy)  in  southern  France  was  destroyed  by 
the  West  Goths  in  480.  Litde  remains  of  the 
town  except  a  triumphal  arch  and  the  great 
monument  pictured  here.  Above  the  main 
arches  is  the  inscription,  SEX.  L.  M.  IVLIEI. 
C.  F.  PARENTIBUS.  SVEIS,  which  seems  to 
mean,  "  Sextus  Julius  and  [his  brothers]  Lucius 
and  Marcus,  sons  of  Gaius,  to  their  parents  " 


320 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Attila  and 
the  Huns 


The  "  fall  "  of 
the  Empire 
in  the  \Vest, 
476 


Odoacer 


Theodoric 
conquers 
Odoacer  and 
establishes 
the  kingdom 
of  the  East 
Goths  in 


Italy 


To  add  to  the  universal  confusion  caused  l3y  the  influx  of  the 
German  tribes,  the  Huns  (the  Mongolian  people  who  had  first 
pushed  the  West  Goths  into  the  Empire)  now  began  to  hll  all 
western  Europe  with  terror.  Under  their  chief,  Attila,  this  sav- 
age people  invaded  Gaul.  But  the  Romans  and  the  German 
inhabitants  joined  together  against  the  invaders  and  defeated 
them  in  the  battle  of  Chalons,  in  451.  After  this  rebuff  in  Gaul, 
Attila  turned  to  Italy.  But  the  danger  there  was  averted  by  a 
Roman  embassy,  headed  by  Pope  Leo  the  Great,  who  induced 
Attila  to  give  up  his  plan  of  marching  upon  Rome.  Within  a 
year  he  died  and  with  him  perished  the  power  of  the  Huns, 
who  never  troubled  Europe  again. 

The  year  47^  has  commonly  been  taken  as  the  date  of  the 
"  fall "  of  the  Western  Empire  and  of  the  beginning  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  What  happened  in  that  year  was  this.  Most  of 
the  Roman  emperors  in  the  West  had  proved  weak  and  indolent 
rulers.  So  the  barbarians  wandered  hither  and  thither  pretty 
much  at  their  pleasure,  and  the  German  troops  in  the  service 
of  the  Empire  became  accustomed  to  set  up  and  depose 
emperors  to  suit  their  own  special  interest,  very  much  in  the 
same  way  that  a  boss  in  an  American  city  often  succeeds  in 
securing  the  election  of  a  mayor  w^ho  will  carry  out  his  wishes'. 
Finally  in  476,  Odoacer,  the  most  powerful  among  the  rival 
German  generals  in  Italy,  declared  himself  king  and  banished 
the  last  of  the  emperors  of  the  West.^ 

It  was  not,  however,  given -to  Odoacer  to  establish  an  endur- 
ing German  kingdom  on  Italian  soil,  for  he  was  conquered  by 
the  great  Theodoric,  the  king  of  the  East  Goths  (or  Ostro- 
goths). Theodoric  had  spent  ten  years  of  his  early  youth  in 
Constantinople  and  had  thus  become  familiar  with  Roman  life 
and  was  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Emperor  of  t-he  E^st. 

The  struggle  between  Theodoric  and  Odoacer  lasted  for  sev- 
eral years,  but  Odoacer  was  finally  shut  up  in  Ravenna  and 


1  The  common  misapprehensions  in  regard  to  the  events  of  476  are  discussed 
by  the  author  in  The  Nciv  History^  pp.  1 54  ff. 


TJic  German  Invasions 


32 


surrendered,  only  to  be  treacherously  slain  a  few  days  later  by 
Theodoric  s  own  hand  (493J. 

Theodoric  put  the  name  of  the  Eiuperor  at  Constantinople 
on  the  coins  which  he  issued,  and  did  everything  in  his  power 


to  gam 


the  Emperor's  approval  of  the  new  German  kingdom. 


Fig.  132.    Church  of  Saxt'  Apollinare  Nuovo 

This  church  was  erected  at  Ravenna  by  Theodoric.  Although  the  out- 
side has  been  changed,  the  interior,  here  represented,  remains  much 
the  same  as  it  was  originally.  The  twenty-four  marble  columns  were 
brought  from  Constantinople.  The  walls  are  adorned  with  7?iosahs, 
that  is,  pictures  made  by  piecing  together  small  squares  of  brightly 
colored  marbles  or  glass 

Nevertheless,  although  he  desired  that  the  Emperor  should 
sanction  his  usurpation,  Theodoric  had  no  idea  of  being  really 
subordinate  to  Constantinople. 

The  invaders  took  one  third  of  the  land  for  themselves,  but 
this  seems  to  have  been  done  without  causing  any  serious  dis- 
order. Theodoric  greatly  admired  the  Roman  laws  and  insti- 
tutions and  did  his  best  to  preserve  them.  The  old  offices  and 
titles  were  retained,  and  Goth  and  Roman  lived  under  the  same 
Roman  law.   Order  was  maintained  and  learning  encouraged.    In 


The  East 
Goths 'in 
Italy 


322  Outlines  of  Euvopean  History 

Ravenna,  which  Theodoric  chose  for  his  capital,  beautiful  build- 
ings still  exist  that  date  from  his  reign. ^ 

While  Theodoric  had  been  establishing  his  kingdom  in  Italy 
in  this  enlightened  way,  Gaul,  which  we  now  call  France,  was 
coming  under  the  control  of  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  bar- 
barian peoples,  the  Fra?iks,  who  were  to  play  a  more  important 
role  in  the  formation  of  modern  Europe  than  any  of  the  other 
German  races  (see  next  section). 

Besides  the  kingdom  of  the  East  Goths  in  Italy  and  of  the 
Franks  in  Gaul,  the  West  Goths  had  their  kingdom  in  Spain, 
the  Burgundians  had  established  themselves  on  the  Rhone  River, 
and  the  Vandals  in  Africa.  Royal  alliances  were  concluded  be- 
tween the  various  reigning  houses,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  Europe  we  see  something  like  a  family  of  nations,  liv- 
ing each  within  its  own  boundaries  and  dealing  with  one  another 
as  independent  powers  (see  map).  It  seemed  for  a  few  years 
as  if  the  new  German  kings  who  had  divided  up  the  western  por- 
tion of  the  Empire  among  themselves  would  succeed  in  keeping 
order  and  in  preventing  the  loss  of  such  civilization  as  remained. 

But  no  such  good  fortune  was  in  store  for  Europe,  which 
was  now  only  at  the  beginning  of  the  turmoil  which  was  to 
leave  it  almost  completely  barbarized,  for  there  was  little  to 
encourage  the  reading  or  writing  of  books,  the  study  of  science, 
or  attention  to  art,  in  a  time  of  constant  warfare  and  danger. 
Cassiodorus  Theodoric  had  a  distinguished  Roman  counselor  named  Cassi- 

manuals  odorus  (d.  575),  to  whosc  letters  we  owe  a  great  part  of  our 

knowledge  of  this  period,  and  who  busied  himself  in  his  old  age 

1  The  headpiece  of  this  chapter  represents  the  tomb  of  Theodoric.  Emperors 
and  rich  men  were  accustomed  in  Roman  times  to  build  handsome  tombs  for 
themselves  (see  Fig.  131).  Theodoric  followed  their  example  and  erected  this  two- 
storied  building  at  Ravenna  to  serve  as  his  mausoleum.  The  dome  consists  of  a 
single  great  piece  of  rock  36  feet  in  diameter,  weighing  500  tons,  brought  from 
across  the  Adriatic.  Theodoric  was  a  heretic  in  the  eyes  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
and  not  long  after  his  death  his  remains  were  taken  out  of  his  tomb  and  scattered 
to  the  winds,  and  the  building  converted  into  a  church.  The  picture  represents 
the  tomb  as  it  probably  looked  originally ;  it  has  been  somewhat  altered  in  modem 
times,  but  is  well  preserved. 


SCALE  OF  MILES 
b    '  100     200     300     400 


Longitude 


Map  of  Europe  in  the  Time  of  Theodoric 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Theodoric's  kingdom  of  the  East  Goths  included 
a  considerable  part  of  what  we  call  Austria  to-day,  and  that  the  West 
Gothic  kingdom  extended  into  southern  France.  The  Vandals  held 
northern  Africa  and  the  adjacent  islands.  The  Burgundians  lay  in  be- 
tween the  East  Goths  and  the  Franks.  The  Lombards,  who  were  later 
to  move  down  into  Italy,  were  in  Theodoric's  time  east  of  the  Bavarians, 
after  whom  modern  Bavaria  is  named.  Some  of  the  Saxons  invaded 
England,  but  many  remained  in  Germany,  as  indicated  on  the  map. 
The  Eastern  Empire,  which  was  all  that  remained  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
included  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  Asia  Minor,  and  the  eastern  portion  of 
the  Mediterranean.  The  Britons  in  Wales,  the  Picts  in  Scotland,  and 
the  Scots  in  Ireland  were  Celts,  consequently  modern  Welsh,  Gaelic,  and 
Irish  are  closely  related  and  belong  to  the  Celtic  group  of  languages 


323 


324 


Outlines  of  European  }Iistory 


Scarcely  any 
writers  in 
western 
Europe  dur- 
ing the  sixth, 
seventh,  and 
eighth  cen- 
turies 


Justinian 
destroys  the 
kingdoms  of 
the  Vandals 
and  the  East 
Goths 


in  preparing  textbool<s  of  the  "  liberal  "  arts  and  sciences,  — 
grammar,  arithmetic,  logic,  geometry,  rhetoric,  music,  and  as- 
tronomy. His  treatment  of  these  seven  important  subjects,  to 
which  he  devotes  a  few  pages  each,  seems  to  us  very  silly  and 
absurd  and  enables  us  to  estimate  the  low  plane  to  which  learn- 
ing had  fallen  in  Italy  in  the  sixth  century.  Yet  these  and  similar 
works  were  regarded  as  standard  treatises  and  used  as  textbooks 
all  through  the  Middle  Ages,  while  the  really  great  Greek  and 
Roman  writers  of  the  earlier  period  were  forgotten. 

Between  the  time  of  Theodoric  and  that  of  Charlemagne 
three  hundred  years  elapsed,  during  which  scarcely  a  person 
was  to  be  found  who  could  write  out,  even  in  the  worst  of 
Latin,  an  account  of  the  events  of  his  day.-^  Everything  con- 
spired to  discourage  education.  The  great  centers  of  learning — 
Carthage,  Rome,  Alexandria,  Milan  —  had  all  been  partially 
destroyed  by  the  invaders.  The  libraries  which  had  been  kept 
in  the  temples  of  the  pagan  gods  were  often  burned,  along 
with  the  temples  themselves,  by  Christian  enthusiasts,  who 
were  not  sorry  to  see  the  heathen  books  disappear  with  the 
heathen  religion.  Shortly  after  Theodoric 's  death  the  Emperor 
at  Constantinople  withdrew  the  support  which  the  Roman  gov- 
ernment had  been  accustomed  to  grant  to  public  teachers,  and 
closed  the  great  school  at  Athens.  The  only  important  historian 
of  the  sixth  century  was  the  half-illiterate  Gregor)-,  bishop  of 
Tours  (d.  594),  whose  whole  work  is  evidence  of  the  sad  state 
of  affairs.  He  at  least  heartily  appreciated  his  own  ignorance 
and  exclaims,  in  bad  Latin,  "  Woe  to  our  time,  for  the  study  of 
books  has  perished  from  among  us." 

The  year  after  Theodoric's  death  one  of  the  greatest  of  the 
emperors  of  the  East,  Justinian  (527-565),  came  to  the  throne 
at  Constantinople.  He  undertook  to  regain  for  the  Empire  the 
provinces  in  Africa  and  Italy  that  had  been  occupied  by  the 
Vandals  and  East  Goths.     His  general,  Belisarius,  overthrew 

1  See  Robinson,  Readings  in  European  History^  I,  chap,  iii  (end),  for  histori- 
cal writings  of  this  period. 


TJic  Gennan  Invasions  325 

the  Vandal  kingdom  in  northern  Africa  in  534,  but  it  was  a 
more  difficult  task  to  destroy  the  Gothic  rule  in  Italy.  How- 
ever, in  spite  of  a  brave  resistance,  the  Goths  were  so  com- 
pletely defeated  in  553  that  they  agreed  to  leave  Italy  with  all 
their  movable  possessions.  What  became  of  the  remnants  of 
the  race  we  do  not  know. 

The  destruction  of  the  Gothic  kingdom  was  a  disaster  for  The  Lo 
Italy,  for  the  Goths  would  have  helped  defend  it  against  later  i^^iy^  ° 
and  far  more  barbarous  invaders.  Immediately  after  the  death 
of  Justinian  the  country  was  overrun  by  the  Lombards,  the 
last  of  the  great  German  peoples  to  establish  themselves  within 
the  bounds  of  the  former  Empire.  They  were  a  savage  race,  a 
considerable  part  of  which  was  still  pagan.  The  newcomers 
first  occupied  the  region  north  of  the  Po,  which  has  ever 
since  been  called  "  Lombardy  "  after  them,  and  then  extended 
their  conquests  southward.  Instead  of  settling  themselves  with 
the  moderation  and  wise  statesmanship  of  the  East  Goths,  the 
Lombards  moved  about  the  peninsula  pillaging  and  massacring. 
Such  of  the  inhabitants  as  could,  fled  to  the  islands  off  the 
coast.  The  Lombards  were  unable,  however,  to  conquer  all  of 
Italy.  Rome,  Ravenna,  and  southern  Italy  continued  to  be  held 
by  the  emperors  who  succeeded  Justinian  at  Constantinople. 
As  time  went  on,  the  Lombards  lost  their  wildness  and  adopted 
the  habits  and  religion  of  the  people  among  whom  they  lived. 
Their  kingdom  lasted  over  two  hundred  years,  until  it  was 
conquered  by  Charlemagne  (see  below,  p.  374). 


Section  52.    Kingdom  of  the  Franks 

The  various  kingdoms  established  by  the  German  chieftains  The  Franks : 
were  not  very  permanent,  as  we  have  seen.    The  Eranks,  how-  tance3°'^ 
ever,  succeeded  in  conquering  more  territory  than  any  other  JJj*^^on"^uesr^ 
people  and  in  founding  an  empire  far  more  important  than  the 
kingdoms  of  the  West  and  East  Goths,  the  Vandals,  or  the 
Lombards.    We  must  now  see  how  this  was  accomplished. 


326 


Outlines  of  European  History 


When  the  P>anks  are  first  heard  of  in  history  they  were  set- 
tled along  the  lower  Rhine,  from  Cologne  to  the  North  Sea. 
Their  method  of  getting  a  foothold  in  the  Empire  was  essen- 
tially different  from  that  which 
the  Goths,  Lombards,  and 
Vandals  had  adopted.  Instead 
of  severing  their  connection 
with  Germany  and  becoming 
an  island  in  the  sea  of  the 
Empire,  they  conquered  by  de- 
grees the  territory  about  them. 
However  far  they  might  ex- 
tend their  control,  they  re- 
mained in  constant  touch  with 
their  fellow  barbarians  behind 
them.  In  this  way  they  re- 
tained the  warlike  vigor  that 
was  lost  by  the  races  who 
were  completely  surrounded 
by  the  luxuries  of  Roman  civi- 
lization. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  fifth 
century  they  had  occupied  the 
district  which  forms  to-day 
the  kingdom  of  Belgium,  as 
well  as  the  regions  east  of 
it.  In  486,  seven  years  before 
Theodoric  founded  his  Italian 
kingdom,  they  went  forth  un- 
der their  great  king,  Clovis 
(a  name  that  later  grew  into 
Louis),  and  defeated  the 
Roman  general  who  opposed  them.  They  extended  their  control 
over  Gaul  as  far  south  as  the  Loire,  which  at  that  time  formed 
the  northern  boundarv  of   the  kingdom   of   the  West  Goths. 


Fig.  133.    Fraxkish  Warrior 

It  is  very  hard  to  find  illustrations 
for  a  chapter  on  the  barbarian  in- 
vasions, for  this  period  of  disorder 
was  not  one  in  which  pictures  were 
being  painted  or  buildings  erected. 
From  the  slight  descriptions  we 
have  of  the  costume  worn  by  the 
Frankish  soldiers,  we  infer  that  it 
was  something  Hke  that  repre- 
sented here.  We  know  that  they 
wore  their  hair  in  long  braids  and 
carried  weapons  similar  to  those 
in  the  picture 


onversion 
of  Clovis,  496 


TJic  Gcnnau  Invasions  327 

Clovis  next  enlarged  his  empire  on  the  east  by  the  conquest 
of  the  Alemanni,  a  German  people  living  in  the  region  of  the 
Black  Forest. 

The  battle  in  which  the  Alemanni  were  defeated  (496)  is  in  C 
one  respect  important  above  all  the  other  battles  of  Clovis 
Although  still  a  pagan  himself,  his  wife  had  been  converted  to 
Christianity.  In  the  midst  of  the  battle,  seeing  his  troops  giving 
way,  he  called  upon  Jesus  Christ  and  pledged  himself  to  be 
baptized  in  his  name  if  he  would  help  the  Franks  to  victory 
over  their  enemies.  When  he  won  the  battle  he  kept  his  word 
and  was  baptized,  together  with  three  thousand  of  his  warriors. 
It  is  from  Bishop  Gregory  of  Tours,  mentioned  above,  that  most 
of  our  knowledge  of  Clovis  and  his  successors  is  glerived.  In 
Gregory's  famous  History  of  the  Franks  the  cruel  and  unscrupu- 
lous Clovis  appears  as  God's  chosen  instrument  for  the  support 
of  the  Christian  faith.^  Certainly  Clovis  quickly  learned  to  com- 
bine his  own  interests  with  those  of  the  Church,  and,  later,  an 
alliance  between  the  Pope  and  the  Frankish  kings  was  destined 
to  have  a  great  influence  upon  the  history  of  western  Europe.* 

To  the  south  of  Clovis's  new  possessions  in  Gaul  lay  the  Conquests  of 
kingdom  of  the  West  Goths ;  to  the  southeast  that  of  another 
German  people,  the  Burgundians.  Clovis  speedily  extended  his 
power  to  the  Pyrenees,  and  forced  the  West  Goths  to  confine 
themselves  to  the  Spanish  portion  of  their  realm,  while  the  Bur- 
gundians soon  fell  completely  under  the  rule  of  the  P>anks. 
Then  Clovis,  by  a  series  of  murders,  brought  portions  of  the 
Frankish  nation  itself,  which  had  previously  been  independent 
of  him,  under  his  scepter. 

When  Clovis  died  in  511  at  Paris,  which  he  had  made  his   Bloody 
residence,  his  four  sons  divided  his  possessions  among  them,   of  Frankish 
Wars  between  rival  brothers,  interspersed  with  the  most  horrible     ^^^^^ 
murders,  fill  the  annals  of  the  Frankish  kingdom  for  over  a  hun- 
dred years  after  the  death  of  Clovis,    Yet  the  nation  continued 
to  develop  in  spite  of  the  unscrupulous  deeds  of  its  rulers. 

1  See  Readings,  chap,  iii,  for  passages  from  Gregory  of  Tours. 


328 


Outlines  of  En  rope  an  History 


T\\Q  Frankish  kings  who  followed  Clovis  succeeded  in  ex- 
tending their  power  over  pretty  nearly  all  the  territory  that  is 
included  to-day  in  France,  Belgium,  and  the  Netherlands,  as 
well  as  over  a  goodly  portion  of  western  Germany.  Half  a 
century  after  the  death  of  Clovis,  their  dominions  extended  from 
the  Eav  of  Biscay  on  the  west  to  a  point  east  of  Salzburg. 


of  the  0^ 


The  Domixioxs  of  the  Fraxks  uxder  the  Merovixgiaxs 

This  map  shows  how  the  Frankish  kingdom  grew  up.  Clovis  while  still 
a  young  man  defeated  the  Roman  general  Syagrius  in  486,  near  Sois- 
sons,  and  so  added  the  region  around  Paris  to  his  possessions.  He 
added  Alemannia  on  the  east  in  496.  In  507  he  made  Paris  his  capital 
and  conquered  Aquitania,  previously  held  by  the  West  Goths.  He  also 
made  a  beginning  in  adding  the  kingdom  of  the  Burgundians  to  his 
realms.  Pie  died  in  511.  His  successors  in  the  next  half  century  com- 
pleted the  conquest  of  Burgundy  and  added  Provincia,  Bavaria,  and 
Gascony.  There  were  many  divisions  of  the  Frankish  realms  after  the 
time  of  Clovis,  and  the  eastern  and  western  portions,  called  Austrasia 
and  Neustria,  were  often  ruled  by  different  branches  of  the  Merovingiatis, 
as  Clovis's  family  was  called 


The  German  Invasions  ^ig 

Section  53.    Results  of  the  Barbarian  Invasions 

As  one  looks  back  over  the  German  invasions  it  is  natural   Fusion  of 
to  ask  upon  what  terms  the  newcomers  lived  among  the  old   ^^s  anc?the 
inhabitants  of  the  Empire,  how  far  they  adopted  the  customs   ^^.^^^  pop"- 
of  those  among  whom  they  settled,  and  how  far  they  clung  to 
their  old  habits  ?    These  questions  cannot  be  answered  very  sat- 
isfactorily.   So  little  is  known  of  the  confused  period  of  which 
w^e  have  been  speaking  that  it  is  impossible  to  follow  closely 
the  mixing  of  the  two  races. 

Yet  a  few  things  are  tolerably  clear.  In  the  first  place,  we  The  number 
must  be  on  our  guard  against  exaggerating  the  numbers  in  the  barians^^^ 
various  bodies  of  invaders.  The  writers  of  the  time  indicate 
that  the  \\'est  Goths,  when  they  were  first  admitted  to  the 
Empire  before  the  battle  of  Adrianople,  amounted  to  four  or 
five  hundred  thousand  persons,  including  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren. This  is  the  largest  band  reported,  and  it  must  have  been 
greatly  reduced  before  the  West  Goths,  after  long  wanderings 
and  many  battles,  finally  settled  in  Spain  and  southern  Gaul.  The 
Burgundians,  when  they  appear  for  the  first  time  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rhine,  are  reported  to  have  had  eighty  thousand  warriors 
among  them.  When  Clovis  and  his  army  were  baptized,  Gregory 
of  Tours  speaks  of  "  over  three  thousand  "  soldiers  who  became 
Christians  upon  that  occasion.  This  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  this  was  the  entire  army  of  the  Frankish  king  at  this  time. 

Undoubtedly  these  figures  are  very  meager  and  unreliable. 
But  the  readiness  with  which  the  Germans  appear  to  have 
adopted  the  language  and  customs  of  the  Romans  would  tend 
to  prove  that  the  invaders  formed  but  a  small  minority  of  the 
population.  Since  hundreds  of  thousands  of  barbarians  had 
been  absorbed  during  the  previous  five  centuries,  the  invasions 
of  the  fifth  century  can  hardly  have  made  an  abrupt  change  in 
the  character  of  the  population. 

The  barbarians  within  the  old  Empire  were  soon  speaking  the 
same  conversational  Latin  which  was  everywhere  used  by  the 


330 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Romans  about  them.  This  was  much  simpler  than  the  elaborate 
and  complicated  language  used  in  books,  which  we  find  so  much 
difficulty  in  learning  nowadays.  The  speech  of  the  common  peo- 
ple was  gradually  diverging  more  and  more,  in  the  various  coun- 
tries of  southern  Europe,  from  the  written  Latin,  and  finally  grew 
into  French,  Spanish,  Italian,  and  Portuguese.  But  the  barba- 
rians did  not  produce  this  change,  for  it  had  begun  before  they 
came  and  would  have  gone  on  without  them.  They  did  no  more 
than  contribute  a  few  convenient  words  to  the  new  languages. 

The  northern  Franks,  who  did  not  penetrate  far  into  the 
Empire,  and  the  Germans  who  remained  in  what  is  now  Ger- 
many and  in  Scandinavia,  had  of  course  no  reason  for  giving 
up  their  native  tongues ;  the  Angles  and  Saxons  in  Britain  also 
kept  theirs.  These  Germanic  languages  in  time  became  Dutch, 
English,  German,  Danish,  Swedish,  etc.  Of  this  matter  some- 
thing will  be  said  later  (see  below,  section  92). 

The  Germans  and  the  older  inhabitants  of  the  Roman  Empire 
appear  to  have  had  no  dislike  for  one  another,  except  when 
there  was  a  difference  in  religion.^  Where  there  was  no  religious 
barrier  the  two  races  intermarried  freely  from  the  first.  The 
Frankish  kings  did  not  hesitate  to  appoint  Romans  to  impor- 
tant positions  in  the  government  and  in  the  army,  just  as  the 
Romans  had  long  been  in  the  habit  of  employing  the  barbarians 
as  generals  and  officials.  In  only  one  respect  were  the  two 
races  distinguished  for  a  time  —  each  had  its  particular  law. 

The  West  Goths  were  probably  the  first  to  wTite  down  their 
ancient  laws,  using  the  Latin  language  for  the  purpose.  Their 
example  was  followed  by  the  Franks,  the  Burgundians,  and  later 
by  the  Lombards  and  other  peoples.  These  codes  make  up  the 
"  Laws  of  the  Barbarians,"  which  form  our  most  important 
source  of  knowledge  of  the  habits  and  ideas  of  the  Germans  at 
the  time  of  the  invasions.    For  several  centuries  following  the 


1  The  West  and  East  Goths  and  the  Burgundians  were  heretics  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Catholic  Church,  for  they  had  been  taught  their  Christianity  by  mission- 
aries who  disagreed  with  the  Catholic  Church  on  certain  points. 


The  Germajt  Invasions  331 

barbarian  conquests,  the  members  of  the  various  German  tribes 
appear  to  have  been  judged  by  the  laws  of  the  particular  people  to 
which  they  belonged.  The  older  inhabitants  of  the  Empire,  on 
the  contrary,  continued  to  have  their  lawsuits  decided  according 
to  the  Roman  law. 

The  German  laws  did  not  provide  for  trials,  either  in  the  Medieval 
Roman  or  the  modern  sense  of  the  word.  There  was  no  attempt 
to  gather  and  weigh  evidence  and  base  the  decision  upon  it. 
Such  a  mode  of  procedure  was  far  too  elaborate  for  the  simple- 
minded  Germans.  Instead  of  a  regular  trial,  one  of  the  parties 
to  the  case  was  designated  to  prove  that  his  side  of  the  case 
was  true  by  one  of  the  following  methods  : 

1.  He  might  solemnly  swear  that  he  was  telling  the  truth   Compurga- 
and  get  as  many  other  persons  of  his  own  class  as  the  court 
required,  to  swear  that  they  believed  that  he  was  telling  the  truth. 

This  was  called  annpurgation.  It  was  believed  that  God  would 
punish  those  who  swore  falsely. 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  the  parties  to  the  case,  or  persons   Wager  of 
representing  them,  might  meet  in  combat,  on  the  supposition 

that  Heaven  would  grant  victory  to  the  right.  This  was  the 
so-called  tvager  of  battle. 

3.  Lastly,  one  or  other  of  the  parties  might  be  required  to   Ordeals 
submit  to  the  ordeal  in  one  of  its  various  forms :    He  might 
plunge  his  arm  into  hot  water,  or  carry  a  bit  of  hot  iron  for 

some  distance,  and  if  at  the  end  of  three  days  he  showed  no  ill 
effects,  the  case  was  decided  in  his  favor.  Or  he  might  be 
ordered  to  walk  over  hot  plowshares,  and  if  he  was  not  burned, 
it  was  assumed  that  God  had  intervened  by  a  miracle  to  establish 
the  right. ^  This  method  of  trial  is  but  one  example  of  the  rude 
civilization  which  displaced  the  refined  and  elaborate  organization 
of  the  Romans. 

The  account  which  has  been  given  of  the  conditions  in  the 
Roman  Empire,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  the  barbarians 

1  Professor  Emerton  gives  an  excellent  account  of  the  Germanic  ideas  of  law 
in  his  bitrodiiction  to  the  Middle  Ages,  pp.  73-91. 


:>:)■ 


Outlines  of  Eiiropcau  History 


Ages 


The  igno-  occupicd  its  western  part,  serve  to  explain  why  the  following 
orde'rof  the^  centuries  —  known  as  the  early  Middle  Ages  —  were  a  time  of 
S-e^  ^^'^*^'^  ignorance  and  disorder.  The  Germans,  no  doubt,  varied  a  good 
deal  in  their  habits  and  character.  The  Goths  differed  from  the 
Lombards,  and  the  Franks  from  the  Vandals  ;  but  they  all  agreed 
in  knowing  nothing  of  the  art,  literature,  and  science  which  had 
been  developed  by  the  Greeks  and  adopted  by  the  Romans.  The 
invaders  were  ignorant,  simple,  vigorous  people,  with  no  taste 
for  anything  except  fighting,  eating,  and  drinking.  Such  was  the 
disorder  that  their  coming  produced  that  the  declining  civiliza- 
tion of  the  Empire  was  pretty  nearly  submerged.  The  libraries, 
buildings,  and  works  of  art  were  destroyed  or  neglected,  and 
there  was  no  one  to  see  that  they  were  restored.  So  the  western 
world  fell  back  into  a  condition  similar  to  that  in  which  it  had 
been  before  the  Romans  conquered  and  civilized  it. 

The  loss  was,  however,  temporary.  The  great  heritage  of 
skill  and  invention  which  had  been  slowly  accumulated  in  Egypt 
and  Greece,  and  which  formed  a  part  of  the  civilization  which 
the  Romans  had  adopted  and  spread  abroad  throughout  their 
great  Empire,  did  not  wholly  perish. 

It  is  true  that  the  break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire  and  the 
centuries  of  turmoil  which  followed  set  everything  back,  but  we 
shall  see  how  the  barbarian  nations  gradually  developed  into  our 
modern  European  states,  how  universities  were  established  in 
which  the  books  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  were  studied. 
Architects  arose  in  time  to  imitate  the  old  buildings  and  build 
a  new  kind  of  their  own  quite  as  imposing  as  those  of  the 
Romans,  and  men  of  science  carried  discoveries  far  beyond 
anything  known  to  the  wisest  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  51.  How  did  the  Germans  first  come  into  the  Roman 
Empire,  and  for  what  reasons  t  What  is  meant  by  the  barbarian  in- 
vasions ?  Give  some  examples.  Trace  the  history  of  the  West  ( jOths. 
Where  did   they    finally  establish   their   kingdom.?     Why  has   the 


TJie  German  Invasions  333 

year  476  been  regarded  as  the  date  of  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire? 
Tell  what  you  can  of  Theodoric  and  his  kingdom.  Contrast  the 
Lombard  invaders  of  Italy  with  the  East  Goths. 

Sectiox  52.  Who  were  the  Franks,  and  how  did  their  invasion 
differ  from  that  of  the  other  German  peoples  .-^  What  did  Clovis 
accomplish,  and  what  was  the  extent  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Franks 
under  his  successors  ?  Compare  the  numbers  of  the  barbarians  who 
seem  to  have  entered  the  Empire  with  the  number  of  people  in  our 
large  cities  to-day. 

Section  53.  On  what  terms  do  the  Germans  seem  to  have  lived 
with  the  people  of  the  Roman  Empire  1  Why  are  the  "  Laws  of  the 
Barbarians"  useful  to  the  historian ?  Compare  the  ways  in  which  the 
Germans  tried  law  cases  with  those  we  use  to-day  in  the  United  States. 
Tell  as  clearly  as  possible  why  the  Middle  Ages  were  centuries  of 
disorder  and  ignorance  as  compared  with  the  earlier  period. 


CHAPTER   XIII 
THE  RISE  OF  THE  PAPACY 

Section  54.    The  Christian  Church 

Besides  the  emperors  at  Constantinople  and  the  various 
German  kings,  there  grew  up  in  Europe  a  line  of  rulers  far 
more  powerful  than  any  of  these,  namely,  the  popes.  We  must 
now  consider  the  Christian  Church  and  see  how  the  popes 
gained  their  great  influence. 

We  have  already  seen  how  marvelously  the  Christian  com- 
munities founded  by  the  apostles  and  their  fellow  missionaries 
multiplied  until,  by  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  writers  like 
St.  Cyprian  came  to  conceive  of  a  "  Catholic,"  or  all-embracing, 
Church.  We  have  seen  how  Emperor  Constantine  favored 
Christianity,  and  how  his  successors  worked  in  the  interest  of 
the  new  religion ;  how  carefully  the  Theodosian  Code  safe- 
guarded the  Church  and  the  Christian  clergy,  and  how  harshly 
those  were  treated  who  ventured  to  hold  another  view  of 
Christianity  from  that  sanctioned  by  the  government.^ 


1  See  above,  section  49. 
334 


ideas 


The  Rise  of  the  Papacy  335 

We  must  now  follow  this  most  powerful  and  permanent  of  all 
the  institutions  of  the  later  Roman  Empire  into  the  Middle  Ages. 
We  must  stop  first  to  consider  how  the  Western,  or  Latin,' 
portion  of  Christendom,  which  gradually  fell  apart  from  the 
Eastern,  or  Greek,  region,  came  to  form  a  separate  institution 
under  the  popes,  the  longest  and  mightiest  line  of  rulers  that 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  We  shall  see  how  a  peculiar  class  of 
Christians,  the  monks,  appeared ;  how  they  joined  hands  with 
the  clergy ;  how  the  monks  and  the  clergy  met  the  barbarians, 
subdued  and  civilized  them,  and  then  ruled  them  for  centuries. 

One  great  source  of  the  Church's  strength  lay  in  the  gen-  Contrast  be- 
eral  fear  of  death  and  judgment  to  come,  which  Christianity  and^ChrSan 
had  brought  with  it.  The  educated  Greeks  and  Romans  of  the 
classical  period  usually  thought  of  the  next  life,  when  they 
thought  of  it  at  all,  as  a  very  uninteresting  existence  compared 
with  that  on  this  earth.  One  who  committed  some  great  crime 
might  suffer  for  it  after  death  with  pains  similar  to  those  of  the 
hell  in  which  the  Christians  believed.  But  the  great  part  of 
humanity  were  supposed  to  lead  in  the  next  world  a  shadowy 
existence,  neither  sad  nor  glad.  Religion,  even  to  the  de- 
vout pagan,  was,  as  we  have  seen,  mainly  an  affair  of  this  life ; 
the  gods  were  worshiped  with  a  view  to  securing  happiness  and 
success  in  this  world. 

Since  no  great  satisfaction  could  be  expected  in  the  next 
life,  according  to  pagan  ideas,  it  was  naturally  thought  wise  to 
make  the  most  of  this  one.  The  possibility  of  pleasure  ends  — 
so  the  Roman  poet  Horace  urges  —  when  we  join  the  shades 
below,  as  we  all  must  do  soon.  Let  us,  therefore,  take  advan- 
tage of  every  harmless  pleasure  and  improve  our  brief  oppor- 
tunity to  enjoy  the  good  things  of  earth.  We  should,  however, 
be  reasonable  and  temperate,  avoiding  all  excess,  for  that 
endangers  happiness.  Above  all,  we  should  not  worry  use- 
lessly about  the  future,  which  is  in  the  hands  of  the  gods  and 
beyond  our  control.  Such  were  the  convictions  of  the  majority 
of  thoughtful  pagans. 


336 


Outlines  of  Europcaii  History 


Other- 
worldliness 
of  medieval 
Christianity 


The  monks 


Miracles  a 
source  of  the 
Church's 
power 


Christianity  opposed  this  view  of  life  with  an  entirely  differ- 
ent one.  It  constantly  emphasized  man's  existence  after  death, 
which  it  declared  to  be  infinitely  more  important  than  his  brief 
sojourn  on  earth.  Under  the  influence  of  the  Church  this  con- 
ception of  life  gradually  supplanted  the  pagan  one  in  the  Roman 
world,  and  it  was  taught  to  the  barbarians. 

The  "  other-worldliness  "  became  so  intense  that  thousands 
gave  up  their  ordinary  occupations  altogether  and  devoted  their 
entire  attention  to  preparation  for  the  next  life.  They  shut 
themselves  in  lonely  cells ;  and,  not  satisfied  with  giving  up 
most  of  their  natural  pleasures,  they  inflicted  bodily  suffering 
upon  themselves  by  hunger,  cold,  and  other  discomforts.  They 
trusted  that  in  this  way  they  might  avoid  some  of  the  sins  into 
which  they  were  apt  to  fall,  and  that,  by  self-inflicted  punish- 
ment in  this  world,  they  might  perchance  escape  some  of  that 
reserved  for  them  in  the  next. 

The  barbarians  were  taught  that  their  fate  in  the  next  world 
depended  largely  upon  the  Church.  Its  ministers  never  wearied 
of  presenting  the  alternative  which  faced  every  man  so  soon  as 
this  short  earthly  existence  should  be  over  —  the  alternative 
between  eternal  bliss  in  heaven  and  perpetual,  unspeakable  tor- 
ment in  hell.  Only  those  who  had  been  duly  baptized  could 
hope  to  reach  heaven  ;  but  baptism  washed  away  only  past  sins 
and  did  not  prevent  constant  relapse  into  new  ones.  These,  un- 
less their  guilt  was  removed  through  the  Church,  would  surely 
drag  the  soul  down  to  hell. 

The  divine  power  of  the  Church  was,  furthermore,  estab- 
lished in  the  eyes  of  the  people  by  the  wonderful  works  which 
Christian  saints  were  constantly  performing.  They  healed  the 
sick,  made  the  blind  to  see  and  the  lame  to  walk.  They  called 
down  God's  wrath  upon  those  who  opposed  the  Church  and 
invoked  terrible  punishments  upon  those  who  treated  her  holy 
rites  with  contempt.  To  the  reader  of  to-day  the  frequency  of 
the  miracles  narrated  by  medieval  writers  seems  astonishing. 
The  lives  of  the  saints,  of  which  hundreds  and  hundreds  have 


The  Rise  of  tJic  Papacy  337 

been  preserved,  contain  little  else  than  accounts  of  them,  and 
no  one  appears  to  have  doubted  their  everyday  occurrence.-^ 

A  word  should  be  said  of  the  early  Christian  church  build-  The  early 
ings.  The  Romans  were  accustomed  to  build  near  their  market  bas^lical^' 
places  a  species  of  public  hall,  in  which  townspeople  could  meet 
one  another  to  transact  business,  and  in  which  judges  could  hear 
cases,  and  public  officials  attend  to  their  duties.  These  buildings 
were  called  basilicas.  There  were  several  magnificent  ones  in 
Rome  itself,  and  there  was  doubtless  at  least  one  to  be  found  in 
every  town  of  considerable  size.  The  roofs  of  these  spacious 
halls  were  usually  supported  by  long  rows  of  columns ;  some- 
times there  were  two  rows  on  each  side,  forming  aisles.  When, 
after  Constantine  had  given  his  approval  to  Christianity,  large, 
fine  churches  began  to  be  built  they  were  constructed  like  these 
familiar  public  halls  and,  like  them,  were,  called  basilicas. 

During  the  sixteen  hundred  years  that  have  passed  since 
Constantine's  time  naturally  almost  all  the  churches  of  his  day 
have  disappeared  or  been  greatly  altered.  But  the  beautiful 
church  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore  in  Rome  (Fig.  134)  was  built 
only  a  hundred  years  later,  and  gives  us  an  excellent  notion  of 
a  Christian  basilica  with  its  fine  rows  of  columns  and  its  hand- 
some mosaic  decorations.  In  general,  the  churches  were  plain 
and  unattractive  on  the  outside.  A  later  chapter  will  explain 
how  the  basilica  grew  into  the  Gothic  cathedral,  which  was  as 
beautiful  outside  as  inside. 

The    chief  importance   of    the   Church   for   the    student   of   The  Church 
medieval   history  does  not  lie,  however,  in  its  religious  func-   R^^mangov- 
tions,  vital  as  they  were,  but  rather  in  its  remarkable  relations   ernment 
to   the   government.     From   the  days  of   Constantine  on,  the 
Catholic  Church  had  usually  enjoyed  the  hearty  support  and 
protection  of    the   government.    But   so   long  as   the   Roman 
Empire  remained  strong  and  active  there  was  no  chance  for  the 
clergy  to  free  themselves  from  the  control  of  the  Emperor,  even 
if  they  had  been  disposed  to  do  so.     He  made  such  laws  for 

1  For  reports  of  miracles,  see  Readings,  especially  chaps,  v,  xvi. 


338 


Outlines  of  European  History 


the  Church  as  he  saw  fit,  and  the  clergy  did  not  complain.  The 
government  was,  indeed,  indispensable  to  them.  It  undertook 
to  root  out  paganism  by  destroying  the  heathen  shrines  and 
preventing  heathen  sacrifices,  and  it  punished  severely  those 
who  refused  to  accept  the  teachings  sanctioned  by  the  Church. 


Fig.  134.    Santa  Maria  Maggiore 

This  beautiful  church  at  Rome  was  built  shortly  after  Constantine's 

time,  and  the  interior,  here  shown,  with  its  stately  columns,  above  which 

are  fine  mosaics,  is  still  nearly  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  St.  Augustine, 

fifteen  hundred  years  ago.    The  ceiling  is  of  the  sixteenth  century 


The  Church 
begins  to 
seek  inde- 
pendence 


But  as  the  great  Empire  began  to  fall  apart,  there  was  a 
growing  tendency  among  the  churchmen  in  the  West  to  resent 
the  interference  of  the  new  rulers  whom  they  did  not  respect. 
Consequently  they  managed  gradually  to  free  themselves  in 
large  part  from  the  control  of  the  government.  They  then  pro- 
ceeded to  assume  themselves  many  of  the  duties  of  government, 
which  the  weak  and  disorderly  states  into  which  the  Roman 
Empire  fell  were  unable  to  perform  properly. 

One  of  the  bishops  of  Rome  (Pope  Gelasius  I,  d.  496)  briefly 
stated  the  principle  upon  which  the  Church  rested  its  claims,  as 


The  Rise  of  the  Papacy  339 

follows :   "  Two  powers  govern  the  world,  the  priestly  and  the   Pope  Gela- 
kingly.    The  first  is  assuredly  the  superior,  for  the  priest  is   of"the  rek-^ 
responsible  to  God  for  the  conduct  of  even  the  emperors  them-  ^^'^  of  the 
selves."    Since  no  one  denied  that  the  eternal  interests  of  man-  the  State 
kind,  which  were  under  the  care  of  the  Church,  were  infinitely 
more  important  than  those  merely  worldly  matters  which  the 
State  regulated,  it  was  natural  for  the  clergy  to  hold  that,  in 
case  of  conflict,  the  Church  and  its  officers,  rather  than  the 
king,  should  have  the  last  word. 

Gradually,  as  we  have  said,  the  Church  began  to  undertake  The  Church 
the  duties  which  the  Roman  government  had  previously  per-  perforrn*^the 
formed  and  which  our  governments  perform  to-day,  such  as   functions  of 

^  government 

keeping  order,  the  management  of  public  education,  the  trial  of 
lawsuits,  etc.  There  were  no  well-organized  states  in  western 
Europe  for  many  centuries  after  the  final  destruction  of  the 
E.oman  Empire.  The  authority  of  the  various  barbarian  kings 
was  seldom  sufficient  to  keep  their  realms  in  order.  There 
were  always  many  powerful  landholders  scattered  throughout 
the  kingdom  who  did  pretty  much  what  they  pleased  and  set- 
tled their  grudges  against  their  fellows  by  neighborhood  wars. 
Fighting  was  the  main  business  as  well  as  the  chief  amusement 
of  this  class.  The  king  was  unable  to  maintain  peace  and 
protect  the  oppressed,  however  anxious  he  may  have  been 
to  do  so. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  naturally  fell  to  the  Church  to 
keep  order,  when  it  could,  by  either  threats  or  persuasion ;  to 
see  that  contracts  were  kept,  the  wills  of  the  dead  carried  out, 
and  marriage  obligations  observed.  It  took  the  defenseless 
widow  and  orphan  under  its  protection  and  dispensed  charity ; 
it  promoted  education  at  a  time  when  few  laymen,  however  rich 
and  noble,  were  able  even  to  read.  These  conditions  ser\^e  to 
explain  why  the  Church  was  finally  able  so  greatly  to  extend 
the  powers  which  it  had  enjoyed  under  the  Roman  Empire, 
and  why  it  undertook  duties  which  seem  to  us  to  belong  to  the 
State  rather  than  to  a  religious  organization. 


340 


Outlines  of  Emvpcan  History 


Origin  of 
papal  power 


Prestige  of 
the  Roman 
Christian 
community 


Belief  that 
Peter  was  the 
first  bishop 
of  Rome 


Section  55.    Origin  of  the  Power  of  the  Popes 

We  must  now  turn  to  a  consideration  of  the  origin  and 
growth  of  the  supremacy  of  the  popes,  who,  by  raising  them- 
selves to  the  head  of  the  Western  Church,  became  in  many 
respects  more  powerful  than  any  of  the  kings  and  princes  with 
whom  they  frequently  found  themselves  in  bitter  conflict. 

While  we  cannot  discover  in  the  Theodosian  Code  any  recog- 
nition of  the  supreme  headship  of  the  bishop  of  Rome,  there  is 
little  doubt  that  he  and  his  flock  had  almost  from  the  very  first 
enjoyed  a  leading  place  among  the  Christian  communities.  The 
Roman  church  was  the  only  one  in  the  West  which  could  claim 
the  distinction  of  having  been  founded  by  the  immediate  followers 
of  Christ  —  the  "  two  most  glorious  apostles,  Peter  and  Paul." 

The  New  Testament  speaks  repeatedly  of  Paul's  presence  in 
Rome.  As  for  Peter,  there  had  always  been  an  unquestioned 
tradition,  accepted  throughout  the  Christian  Church,  that  he  was 
the  first  bishop  of  Rome.  This  belief  appears  to  have  been  gener- 
ally accepted  at  least  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 
There  is,  certainly,  no  conflicting  tradition,  no  rival  claimant. 
The  belief  itself,  whether  or  not  it  corresponds  with  adtual  events, 
is  a  fact  of  the  greatest  historical  importance.  Peter  enjoyed  a 
preerhinence  among  the  other  apostles  and  was  singled  out  by 
Christ  upon  several  occasions.  In  a  passage  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment which  has  affected  history  more  profoundly  than  the  edicts 
of  the  most  powerful  monarch,  Christ  says :  "  And  I  s_ay  also  unto 
thee.  That  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
church ;  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  And  I 
will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  and  what- 
soever thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven ;  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  ^ 


1  Matt,  xvi,  18-19.  Two  other  passages  in  the  New  Testament  were  held 
to  substantiate  the  divinely  ordained  headship  of  Peter  and  his  successors  : 
Luke  xxii,  32,  where  Christ  says  to  Peter,  "  Strengthen  thy  brethren,"  and  John  xxi, 
15-17,  where  Jesus  said  to  him,  "  Feed  my  sheep."  See  Readings^  chap.  iv.  The 
keys  always  appear  in  the  papal  arms  (see  headpiece  of  this  chapter,  p.  334). 


^  o  .. 


cj  o  c  2: 

j=  5  c  <u  c>  *^  c 

^    a;    °    a;  ^  §  :^ 

2  o  o 


ci-x;   c  ;z: 


bio  ^-S.S 


o    o 


U     1)     O    '^ 

h-i  -n:,  -C  ^  73 


^  a;  o    >  -a  -^  (U 

g  §  03  -^     rt  rt  (U 

•£  o  2  .2^  ^  -v.  .2 

2  S  I  1  ^  "^  I 

^  -5  o  S  ;  I  ^ 

o  2  c«  ^^  '^  ^ 


H-I      i5"^    ==^55    ;£ 


0^  "^  -S  a;  i3  "^  « 

O  ^  ^  ^  OJ 

■^  ^  S  =>   «  ^  - 

^     <+H  ^  X)     ^  ^  M 


rt   £  .5  ^  X  -S   5 

HJ     O     c  •■    ""    "^     !^ 

£  '-^  5  b  o   '^    - 

§^^  ^^^< 


-^   -i   0   T3     S    -S     |, 


f?  X5  •£    C  flH  "5    O 


I 


341 


342 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Roman 
church  the 
mother 
church 


Leo  the 

Great, 

440-461 


Decree  of 

Valentinian 

III 


Separating 
of  the  Eastern 
from  the 
Western 
Church 


Thus  it  was  natural  that  the  Roman  church  should  early  have 
been  looked  upon  as  the  "  mother  church  "  in  the  West.  Its 
doctrines  were  considered  the  purest,  since  they  had  been  handed 
down  from  its  exalted  founders.  When  there  was  a  difference 
of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  truth  of  a  particular  teaching,  it  was 
natural  that  all  should  turn  to  the  bishop  of  Rome  for  his  view. 
Moreover,  the  majesty  of  Rome,  the  capital  of  the  world, 
helped  to  exalt  its  bishop  above  his  fellows.  It  was  long,  how- 
ever, before  all  the  other  bishops,  especially  those  in  the  large 
cities,  were  ready  to  accept  unconditionally  the  authority  of 
the  bishop  of  Rome,  although  they  acknowledged  his  leading 
position  and  that  of  the  Roman  community. 

We  know  comparatively  little  of  the  bishops  of  Rome  during 
the  first  three  or  four  centuries  of  the  Church's  existence.  It  is 
only  with  the  accession  of  Leo  the  Great  (440-461)  that  the 
history  of  the  papacy  may,  in  one  sense,  be  said  to  have  begun. 
At  his  suggestion,  Valentinian  III,  the  Emperor  in  the  West, 
issued  a  decree  in  445  declaring  the  power  of  the  bishop  of  Rome 
supreme,  by  reason  of  Peter's  headship,  and  the  majesty  of  the 
city  of  Rome.  He  commanded  that  the  bishops  throughout  the 
West  should  receive  as  law  all  that  the  bishop  of  Rome  ap- 
proved, and  that  any  bishop  refusing  to  answer  a  summons  to 
Rome  should  be  forced  to  obey  by  the  imperial  governor. 

But  a  council  at  Chalcedon,  six  years  later,  declared  that 
new  Rome  on  the  Bosporus  (Constantinople)  should  have  the 
same  power  in  the  government  of  the  Church  as  old  Rome 
on  the  Tiber.  This  decree  was,  however,  never  accepted  in 
the  Western,  or  Latin,  Church,  which  was  gradually  separating 
from  the  Eastern,  or  Greek,  Church,  whose  natural  head  was  at 
Constantinople.  Although  there  were  times  of  trouble  to  come, 
when  for  years  the  claims  of  Pope  Leo  appeared  an  empty 
boast,  still  his  emphatic  assertion  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
Roman  bishop  was  a  great  step  toward  bringing  the  Western 
Church  under  a  single  head.^ 

1  See  Readings,  chap,  iv,  for  development  of  the  Pope's  power. 


The  Rise  of  the  Papacy 


343 


The   name   "pope"  (L^tm  papa,  -'father")  was    originally   Title  of  pope 
and  quite  naturally  given  to  all  bishops,  and  even  to  priests.    It 
began  to  be  especially  applied  to  the  bishops  of  Rome,  perhaps 
as  early  as  the  sixth  century,  but  was  not  apparently  confined 
to  them  until  two  or  three  hundred  years  later.    Gregory  VII 


Fig.  136.    The  Axciext  Basilica  of  St.  Peter 

Of  the  churches  built  by  Constantine  in  Rome  that  in  honor  of  St.  Peter 
was,  next  to  the  Lateran,  the  most  important.  It  was  constructed  on 
the  site  of  Nero's  circus,  where  St.  Peter  was  believed  to  have  been 
crucified.  It  retained  its  original  appearance,  as  here  represented,  for 
twelve  hundred  years,  and  then  the  popes  (who  had  given  up  the 
Lateran  as  their  residence  and  come  to  live  in  the  Vatican  palace  close 
to  vSt.  Peter's)  determined  to  build  the  new  and  grander  church  one 
sees  to-day  (see  section  90,  below).  Constantine  and  the  popes  made 
constant  use  in  their  buildings  of  columns  and  stones  taken  from  the 
older  Roman  buildings,  which  were  in  this  way  demolished 


(d.  1085  ;  see  section  75,  below)  was  the  first  to  declare  explicitly 
that  the  title  should  be  used  only  for  the  bishop  of  Rome. 

Not  long  after  the  death  of  Leo  the  Great,  Odoacer  put  an 
end  to  the  Western  line  of  emperors.  Then,  as  we  know, 
Theodoric   and   his   East   Goths   settled    in   Italy,   only   to   be 


Duties  that 
devolved 
upon  the 
early  popes 


344 


Outlines  of  liuropcan  History 


followed  by  still  less  desirable  intruders,  the  Lombards.  During 
this  tumultuous  period  the  people  of  Rome,  and  even  of  all  Italy, 
came  to  regard  the  Pope  as  their  natural  leader.  The  Eastern 
Emperor  was  far  away,  and  his  officers,  who  managed  to  hold  a 
portion  of  central  Italy  around  Rome  and  Ravenna,  were  glad 
to  accept  the  aid  and  counsel  of  the  Pope.  In  Rome  the  Pope 
watched  over  the  elections  of  the  city  officials  and  directed  the 
manner  the  public  money  should  be  spent.  He  had  to  manage 
and  defend  the  great  tracts  of  land  in  different  parts  of  Italy 
which  from  time  to  time  had  been  given  to  the  bishopric  of 
Rome.  He  negotiated  with  the  Germans  and  even  gave  orders 
to  the  generals  sent  against  them. 

The  pontificate  of  Gregory  the  Great,  one  of  the  half  dozen 
most  distinguished  heads  that  the  Church  has  ever  had,  shows 
how  great  a  part  the  papacy  could  play.  Gregory,  who  was  the 
son  of  a  rich  Roman  senator,  had  been  appointed  by  the 
Emperor  to  the  honorable  office  of  prefect.  He  began  to  fear, 
however,  that  his  proud  position  and  fine  clothes  were  making 
him  vain  and  worldly.  His  pious  mother  and  his  study  of  the 
writings  of  Augustine  and  the  other  great  Christian  writers 
led  him,  upon  the  death  of  his  father,  to  spend  all  his  hand- 
some fortune  in  founding  seven  monasteries.  One  of  these 
he  established  in  his  own  house  and  subjected  himself  to 
such  severe  discipline  that  his  health  never  entirely  recovered 
from  it. 

When  Gregory  was  chosen  pope  (in  590)  and  most  reluctantly 
left  his  monastery,  ancient  Rome,  the  capital  of  the  Empire, 
was  already  transforming  itself  into  medieval  Rome,  the  capi- 
tal of  Christendom.  The  temples  of  the  gods  had  furnished 
materials  for  the  many  Christian  churches.  The  tombs  of  the 
apostles  Peter  and  Paul  were  soon  to  become  the  center  of 
religious  attraction  and  the  goal  of  pilgrimages  from  every  part 
of  western  Europe.  Just  as  Gregory  assumed  office  a  great 
plague  was  raging  in  the  city.  In  true  medieval  fashion  he 
arranged  a  solemn  procession  in  order  to  obtain  from  heaven  a 


The  Rise  of  the  Papacy 


345 


cessation  of  the  pest.  Then  the  archangel  Michael  was  seen 
over  the  tomb  of  Hadrian  (Fig.  137)  sheathing  his  fiery  sword 
as  a  sign  that  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  had  been  turned  away. 
With  Gregory  we  leave  behind  us  the  Rome  of  Caesar  and 
Trajan  and  enter  upon  that  of  the  popes. 


U}Jl  liiJiMttlii 


iiTiTi— - '--i^,;in]m''^TnTmTiinr,imir ^  .irninrn,..  ■-,■ ^^^ 


"M~T@rfeir^^' 


lll^^^l^^PI^- 


Fig.  137.    Hadrian's  Tomb 

The  Roman  Emperor  Hadrian  (d.  13S)  built  a  great  circular  tomb  at 
Rome,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Tiber,  for  himself  and  his  successors. 
It  was  240  feet  across,  perhaps  165  feet  high,  covered  with  marble  and 
adorned  with  statues.  When  Rome  was  besieged  by  the  Germans  in 
537,  the  inhabitants  used  the  tomb  for  a  fortress  and  threw  down  the 
statues  on  the  heads  of  the  barbarians.  Since  the  time  when  Gregory 
the  Great  saw  the  archangel  Michael  sheathing  his  sword  over  Hadrian's 
tomb  it  has  been  called  the  Castle  of  the  Holy  Angel 


Gregory  enjoyed  an  unrivaled  reputation  during  the  Middle 
Ages  as  a  writer.  His  works  show,  however,  how  much  less 
cultivated  his  period  was  than  that  of  his  predecessors.  His 
most  popular  book  was  his  Dialogues,  a  collection  of  accounts 
of  miracles  and  popular  legends.    It  is  hard  to  believe  that  it 


Gregory's 
writings 


346 


Outlines  of  Europe  a)  I  History 


Gregory  as  a 
statesman 


Gregory's 
missionary 
undertakings 


could  have  been  composed  by  the  greatest  man  of  the  time  and 
that  it  was  written  for  adults.^  In  his  commentary  on  Job, 
Gregory  warns  the  reader  that  he  need  not  be  surprised  to  find 
mistakes  in  Latin  grammar,  since  in  deaHng  with  so  holy  a  work 
as  the  Bible  a  writer  should  not  stop  to  make  sure  whether 
his  cases  and  tenses  are  right. 

Gregory's  letters  show  clearly  what  the  papacy  was  coming 
t©  mean  for  Europe  when  in  the  hands  of  a  really  great  man. 
While  he  assumed  the  humble  title  of  "  Servant  of  the  servants 
of  God,"  which  the  popes  still  use,  Gregory  was  a  statesman 
whose  influence  extended  far  and  wide.  It  devolved  upon  him 
to  govern  the  city  of  Rome,  —  as  it  did  upon  his  successors 
down  to  the  year  1870,  —  for  the  Eastern  Emperor's  control 
had  become  merely  nominal.  He  had  also  to  keep  the  Lombards 
out  of  central  Italy,  which  they  failed  to  conquer  largely  on 
account  of  the  valiant  defense  of  the  popes.  These  duties  were 
functions  of  the  State,  and  in  assuming  them  Gregory  may  be 
said  to  have  founded  the  "  temporal "  power  of  the  popes. 

Beyond  the  borders  of  Italy,  Gregory  was  in  constant  com- 
munication with  the  Emperor  and  the  Frankish  and  Burgundian 
rulers.  Everywhere  he  used  his  influence  to  have  good  clergy- 
men chosen  as  bishops,  and  everywhere  he  watched  over  the 
interests  of  the  monasteries.  But  his  chief  importance  in  the 
history  of  the  papacy  is  due  to  the  missionary  enterprises  he 
undertook,  through  which  the  great  countries  that  were  one 
day  to  be  called  England,  France,  and  Germany  were  brought 
under  the  sway  of  the  Roman  Church  and  its  head,  the  Pope. 

As  Gregory  had  himself  been  a  devoted  monk  it  was  natural 
that  he  should  rely  chiefly  upon  the  monks  in  his  great  work  of  con- 
verting the  heathen.  Consequently,  before  considering  his  mission- 
ary achievements,  we  must  glance  at  the  origin  and  character  of 
the  monks,  who  are  so  conspicuous  throughout  the  Middle  Ages. 


1  He  is  reckoned,  along  with  Augustine,  Ambrose,  and  Jerome,  as  one  of  the 
four  great  Latin  "  fathers  "  of  the  Church.  For  extracts  from  Gregory's  writings, 
see  Readings^  chap.  iv. 


The  Rise  of  the  Papacy  347 

QUESTIONS 

Sectiox  54.  Why  is  it  essential  to  know  about  the  histoty  of  the 
Church  in  order  to  understand  the  Middle  Ages?  Compare  the 
Christian  idea  of  the  importance  of  life  in  this  world  and  the  next 
with  the  pagan  views.  Describe  a  basilica.  Mention  some  govern- 
mental duties  that  were  assumed  by  the  Church,  Give  the  reasons 
wh}'  the  Church  became  such  a  great  power  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

Section  ^^.  Why  was  the  Roman  church  the  most  important  of 
all  the  Christian  churches  "^  On  what  grounds  did  the  bishop  of  Rome 
claim  to  be  the  head  of  the  whole  Church  ?  Did  the  Christians  in  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  Roman  Empire  accept  the  bishop  of  Rome  as 
their  head  ?  Why  did  the  popes  become  influential  in  the  governing 
not  only  of  Rome  but  of  Italy }  Tell  what  you  can  of  Gregory  the  Great. 


.  r^-^K-^'^^-.  '-.'-^ 


v^^ft^ff^^ii'-'  %'^^x^- 


Importance 
of  the  monks 
as  a  class 


Monasticism 
appealed  to 
many  differ- 
ent classes 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  MONKS  AND  THEIR  MISSIONARY  WORK; 
THE  MOHAMMEDANS 

Section  56.    Monks  and  Monasteries 

It  would  be  difficult  to  overestimate  the  influence  that  the 
monks  exercised  for  centuries  in  Europe,  The  proud  annals  of 
the  Benedictines,  Franciscans,  Dominicans,  and  Jesuits  contain 
many  a  distinguished  name.  The  most  eminent  philosophers, 
scientists,  historians,  artists,  poets,  and  statesmen  may  be  found 
in  their  ranks.  Among  those  whose  achievements  we  shall  men- 
tion later  are  "The  Venerable  Bede,"  Boniface,  Thomas  Aquinas, 
Roger  Bacon,  Fra  Angelico,  Luther,  Erasmus  —  all  these,  and 
many  others  who  have  been  leaders  in  various  branches  of 
human  activity,  were  monks. 

The  life  in  a  monastery  appealed  to  many  different  kinds  of 
people.  The  monastic  life  was  safe  and  peaceful,  as  well  as 
holy.  The  monastery  was  the  natural  refuge  not  only  of  the 
religiously  minded,  but  of  those  of  a  studious  or  thoughtful  dis- 
position who  disliked  the  career  of  a  soldier  and  were  disinclined 
to  face  the  dangers  and  uncertainties  of  the  times.    Even  the 

348 


the  regula- 
tion of  mo- 
nastic life 


TJie  Monks  and  their  Missionary  Work  349 

rude  and  unscrupulous  warriors  hesitated  to  destroy  the  property 
or  disturb  the  life  of  those  who  were  believed  to  enjoy  God's 
special  favor.  The  monastery  furnished,  too,  a  refuge  for  the 
friendless,  an  asylum  for  the  disgraced,  and  food  and  shelter  for 
the  indolent,  who  would  otherwise  have  had  to  earn  their  living. 
There  were,  therefore,  many  different  motives  which  led  people 
to  enter  monasteries.  Kings  and  nobles,  for  the  good  of  their 
souls,  readily  gave  land  upon  which  to  found  colonies  of  monks, 
and  there  were  plenty  of  remote  spots  in  the  mountains  and 
forests  to  invite  those  who  wished  to  escape  from  the  world  and 
its  temptations,  its  dangers  or  its  cares. 

Monastic  communities  first  developed  on  a  large  scale  in  Egypt  Necessity  for 
in  the  fourth  centurv'.  The  idea,  however,  was  quickly  taken  up 
in  Europe.  At  the  time  that  the  Germans  were  winning  their 
first  great  victory  at  Adrianople,  St.  Jerome  was  busily  engaged 
in  writing  letters  to  men  and  women  whom  he  hoped  to  induce 
to  become  monks  or  hermits.  In  the  sixth  century  monasteries 
multiplied  so  rapidly  in  western  Europe  that  it  became  necessary 
to  establish  definite  rules  for  these  communities  which  proposed 
to  desert  the  ordinary  ways  of  the  world  and  lead  a  holy  life 
apart.  Accordingly  St.  Benedict  drew  up,  about  the  year  526, 
a  sort  of  constitution  for  the  monastery  of  Monte  Cassino,  in 
southern  Italy,  of  which  he  was  the  head.^  This  was  so  saga- 
cious, and  so  well  met  the  needs  of  the  monastic  life,  that  it  was 
rapidly  accepted  by  the  other  monasteries  and  gradually  became 
the  "  rule  "  according  to  which  all  the  Western  monks  lived. ^ 

1  The  illustration  on  page  348  shows  the  monastery  of  Monte  Cassino.  It  is 
situated  on  a  lofty  hill,  lying  some  ninety  miles  south  of  Rome.  Benedict 
selected  a  site  formerly  occupied  by  a  temple  to  Apollo,  of  which  the  columns 
may  still  be  seen  in  one  of  the  courts  of  the  present  building.  The  monaster)' 
was  destroyed  by  the  Lombards  not  long  after  its  foundation  and  later  by  the 
Mohammedans,  so  none  of  the  present  buildings  go  back  to  the  time  of  Benedict. 

-  Benedict  did  not  introduce  monasticism  in  the  West,  as  is  sometimes  sup- 
posed, nor  did  he  even  found  an  order  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  under  a 
single  head,  like  the  later  Franciscans  and  Dominicans.  Nevertheless,  the 
monks  who  lived  under  his  rule  are  ordinarily  spoken  of  as  belonging  to  the 
Benedictine  order.  A  translation  of  the  Benedictine  Rule  may  be  found  in 
Henderson,  Historical  Documents^  pp.  274-314. 


350 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Rule  of 
St.  Benedict 


The  monas- 
tic vows 


The  Rule  of  St.  Benedict  is  as  important  as  any  constitution 
that  was  ever  drawn  up  for  a  state.  It  is  for  the  most  part  very 
wise  and  sensible.  It  provided  that,  since  every  one  is  not  fitted 
for  the  monk's  life,  the  candidate  for  admission  to  the  monastery 
should  pass  through  a  period  of  probation,  called  the  novitiate, 
before  he  was  permitted  to  take  the  solemn,  final  vows.  The 
brethren  were  to  elect  the  head  of  the  monastery,  the  abbot, 
as  he  was  called.  Along  with  frequent  prayer  and  meditation, 
the  monks  were  to  do  the  necessary  cooking  and  washing  for  the 
monastery  and  raise  the  necessary  vegetables  and  grain.  They 
were  also  to  read  and  teach.  Those  who  were  incapacitated  for 
outdoor  work  were  assigned  lighter  tasks,  such  as  copying  books. 

The  monk  had  to  take  the  three  vows  of  obedience,  poverty, 
and  chastity.  He  was  to  obey  the  abbot  without  question  in  all 
matters  that  did  not  involve  his  committing  a  sin.  He  pledged 
himself  to  perpetual  and  absolute  poverty,  and  everything  he 
used  was  the  property  of  the  convent.  He  was  not  permitted 
to  own  anything  whatsoever  —  not  even  a  book  or  a  pen.  Along 
with  the  vows  of  obedience  and  poverty,  he  was  also  required 
to  pledge  himself  never  to  marry ;  for  not  only  was  the  single 
life  considered  more  holy  than  the  married,  but  the  monastic 
organization  would  have  been  impossible  unless  the  monks  re- 
mained single.  Aside  from  these  restrictions,  the  monks  were 
commanded  to  live  reasonable  and  natural  lives  and  not  to 
destroy  their  health,  as  some  earlier  ones  had  done,  by  undue 
fasting  in  the  supposed  interest  of  their  souls. 

The  influence  of  the  Benedictine  monks  upon  Europe  is  in- 
calculable. From  their  numbers  no  less  than  twenty-four  popes 
and  forty-six  hundred  bishops  and  archbishops  have  been  chosen. 
They  boast  almost  sixteen  thousand  writers,  some  of  great  dis- 
tinction. Their  monasteries  furnished  retreats  during  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  where  the  scholar  might  study  and  write  in  spite  of 
the  prevailing  disorder  of  the  times. 

The  copying  of  books,  as  has  been  said,  was  a  natural  occu- 
pation of  the  monks.    Doubdess  their  work  was  often  done 


TJie  Monks  and  their  Missiojiaiy  Work  351 

carelessly,  with  little  heart  and  less  understanding.    But,  with  the   The  monks 
great  loss  of  manuscripts  due  to  the  destruction  of  libraries  and   prSeive^the 
the  general  lack  of  interest  in  books,  it  was  most  essential  that   ^^^^"  authors 
new  copies  should  be  made.    Even  poor  and  incorrect  ones  were 
better  than  none.    Almost  all  the  books  written  by  the  Romans 
disappeared  altogether  during  the  Middle  Ages,  but  from  time  to 
time  a  monk  would  copy  out  the  poems  of  Virgil,  Horace,  or  Ovid, 
or  the  speeches  of  Cicero.   In  this  way  some  of  the  chief  works  of 
the  Latin  writers  have  continued  to  exist  down  to  the  present  day. 

The  monks  regarded  good  hard  work  as  a  great  aid  to  salva-  The  monks 
tion.  They  set  the  example  of  careful  cultivation  of  the  lands  ^ateriTl  dE 
about  their  monasteries  and  in  this  way  introduced  better  farm-  velopment  of 

Europe 

ing  methods  into  the  regions  where  they  settled.  They  enter- 
tained travelers  at  a  time  when  there  were  few  or  no  inns  and  so 
increased  the  intercourse  between  the  various  parts  of  Europe. 

The  Benedictine  monks  were  ardent  and  faithful  supporters   The  "  regu- 
of  the   papacy.    The   Church,  which  owes  much  to  them,  ex-   "secular" 
tended  to  them  many  of  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  the  clergy,    ^^^^sy 
Indeed,  the  monks  were  reckoned  as  clergymen  and  were  called 
the  "  regular  "  clergy,  because  they  lived  according  to  a  regnla^ 
or  rule,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  "  secular  "  clergy,  who  con- 
tinued to  live  in  the  world  {saeculutii)  and  did  not  take  the 
monastic  vows  described  above. 

The  home  which  the  monks  constructed  for  themselves  was   Arrangement 
called  a  monastery  or  abbey.    This  was  arranged  to  meet  their  astery* 
particular  needs  and  was  usually  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
any  town,  in  order  to  insure  solitude  and  quiet.^    It  was  mod- 
eled upon  the  general  plan  of  the  Roman  country  house.    The 
buildings  were  arranged  around  a  court,  called  the  cloister.    On   The  cloister 
all  four  sides  of  this  was  a  covered  walk,  which  made  it  possible 
to  reach  all  the  buildings  without  exposing  one's  self  to  either  the 
rain  or  the  hot  sun.   Not  only  the  Benedictines  but  all  the  orders 
which  sprang  up  in  later  centuries  arranged  their  homes  in 
much  the  same  way. 

1  Later  monasteries  were  sometimes  built  in  towns,  or  just  outside  the  walls. 


352 


Outlines  of  liiiropcan  History 


'J'he  abbey 
church 


On  the  north  side  of  the  cloister  was  the  church,  which  ahvays 
faced  west.  As  time  went  on  and  certain  groups  of  monks 
were  given  a  great  deal  of  property,  they  constructed  very  beau- 
tiful churches  for  their  monasteries.  Westminster  Abbey  was 
originally  the  church  of  a  monastery  lying  outside  the  city  of 


Fig.  138.    Cloisters  of  Heiligexkreuz 

This  picture  of  the  cloister  in  the  German  monastery  of  Heiligenkreuz 

is  chosen  to  show  how  the  more  ordinary  monastery  courts  looked,  with 

their  pleasant  sunny  gardens 


The  refec- 
tory, lavatory, 
and  dormi- 
tory 


London,  and  there  are  in  Great  Britain  many  picturesque  re- 
mains of  ruined  abbey  churches  which  attract  the  attention  of 
every  traveler. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  cloister  v^ere  storerooms  for  pro- 
visions ;  on  the  south  side,  opposite  the  church,  was  the  *'  re- 
fectory," or  dining  room,  and  a  sitting  room  that  could  be 
warmed  in  cold  weather.  In  the  cloister  near  the  dining  room 
was  a  "  lavatory  "  where  the  monk  could  wash  his  hands  before 
meals.  To  the  east  of  the  cloister  was  the  "  dormitory,"  where 
the  monks  slept.  This  always  adjoined  the  church,  for  the  Rule 
required  that  the  monks  should  hold  services  seven  times  a  day. 


The  Monks  and  their  Missionary  Work 


353 


One  of  these  services,  called  vigils,  came  well  before  daybreak, 
and  it  was  convenient  when  you  were  summoned  in  the  dark- 
ness out  of  your  warm  bed  to  be  able  to  go  down  a  short  passage 
that  led  from  the  dormitory  into  the  choir  of  the  church,  where 
the  service  was  held. 

The  Benedictine  Rule  provided  that  the  monks  should  so  far 
as  possible  have  everything  for  their  support  on  their  own  land. 


Fig.  139.    Monastery  of  Val  di  Cristo 

This  monastery  in  southern  Spain  has  two  cloisters,  the  main  one  lying 

to  the  left.   One  can  see  how  the  buildings  were  surrounded  by  vegetable 

gardens  and  an  orchard  which  supplied  the  monks  with  food.   Compare 

picture  of  another  monastery  (Fig.  151,  below) 


So  outside  the  group  of  buildings  around  the  cloister  would  be   The  out- 
found  the  garden,  the  orchard,  the  mill,  a  fish  pond,  and  fields   t^^^s  o£°the 
for  raising  grain.   There  were  also  a  hospital  for  the  sick  and  a   monastery 
guest  house  for  pilgrims  or  poor  people  who  happened  to  come 
along.     In  the   greater  monasteries  there  were   also   quarters 
where  a  king  or  nobleman  might  spend  a  few  nights  in  comfort. 


«r^^ 


Si  ir 


X     c   .^^ 


354 


TJie  Monks  and  their  Missionary  Work  355 

Section  57.    Missionary  Work  of  the  Monks 

The  first  great  undertaking  of  the  monks  was  the  conver-  The  monks 
sion  of  those  German  peoples  who  had  not  yet  been  won  over  ad™^^^"" 
to  Christianity.  These  the  monks  made  not  merely  Christians, 
but  also  dutiful,  subjects  of  the  Pope.  In  this  way  the  strength 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  was  greatly  increased.  The  first 
people  to  engage  the  attention  of  the  monks  were  the  heathen 
German  tribes  who  had  conquered  the  once  Christian  Britain. 

The  islands  which  are  now  known  as  the  kingdom  of  Great  Early  Britain 
Britain  and  Ireland  were,  at  the  opening  of  the  Christian  era, 
occupied  by  several  Celtic  peoples  of  whose  customs  and  re- 
ligion we  know  almost  nothing.  Julius  Caesar  commenced  the 
conquest  of  the  islands  (55  B.C.)  ;  but  the  Romans  never  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  their  power  beyond  the  wall  which  they 
built,  from  the  Clyde  to  the  Firth  of  Forth,  to  keep  out  the 
wild  tribes  of  the  North.  Even  south  of  the  wall  the  country 
was  not  completely  Romanized,  and  the  Celtic  tongue  has 
actually  survived  down  to  the  present  day  in  Wales  (see 
p.  323,  above). 

At  the  opening  of  the  fifth  century  the  barbarian  invasions  Saxons  and 
forced  Rome  to  withdraw  its  legions  from  Britain  in  order  to  que^r^BrSn 
protect  its  frontiers  on  the  Continent.  The  island  was  thus  left 
to  be  conquered  gradually  by  the  Germans,  mainly  Saxons  and 
Angles,  who  came  across  the  North  Sea  from  the  region  south 
of  Denmark.  Almost  all  record  of  what  went  on  during  the  two 
centuries  following  the  departure  of  the  Romans  has  disap- 
peared. No  one  knows  the  fate  of  the  original  Celtic  inhabitants 
of  England.  It  was  formerly  supposed  that  they  were  all  killed 
or  driven  to  the  mountain  districts  of  Wales,  but  this  seems  un- 
likely. More  probably  they  were  gradually  lost  among  the  dom- 
inating Germans  with  whom  they  merged  into  one  people.  The 
Saxon  and  Angle  chieftains  established  small  kingdoms,  of  which 
there  were  seven  or  eight  at  the  time  when  Gregory  the  Great 
became  pope. 


56 


Outlines  of  Europcafi  History 


Conversion 
of  Britain 


Gregory,  while  still  a  simple  monk,  had  been  struck  with  the 
beauty  of  some  Angles  whom  he  saw  one  day  in  the  slave  market 
at  Rome.  When  he  learned  who  they  were  he  was  grieved  that 
such  handsome  beings  should  still  belong  to  the  kingdom  of  the 
Prince  of  Darkness,  and  he  wished  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  their 
people,  but  permission  was  refused  him.    So  when  he  became 


'1^.   - 


-^ 


Fig.  141.  St.  Martin's,  Canterbury 

A  church  built  during  the  period  when  the  Romans  were  occupying 
England  had  been  used  by  Bertha,  the  Christian  wife  of  the  king  of 
Kent.  Augustine  found  this  on  his  arrival  in  Canterbury  and  is  said  to 
have  baptized  the  king  there.  It  has  been  rebuilt  and  added  to  in  later 
times,  but  there  are  many  Roman  bricks  in  the  walls,  and  the  lower  parts 
of  the  church  as  we  now  see  it  may  go  back  to  the  Roman  period 


Pope  he  sent  forty  monks  to  England  under  the  leadership  of 
a  prior,  named  Augustine  (who  must  not  be  confused  with  the 
church  father  of  that  name).  The  heathen  king  of  Kent,  in 
whose  territory  Augustine  and  his  monks  landed  with  fear  and 
trembling  (597),  had  a  Christian  wife,  the  daughter  of  a  Frankish 
king.  Through  her  influence  the  monks  were  kindly  received 
and  were  given  an  ancient  church  at  Canterbury,  dating  from 
the  Roman  occupation  before  the  German  invasions.    Here  they 


The  Monks  and  their  Missionary  Work  357 

established  a  monastery,  and  from  this  center  the  conversion, 
first  of  Kent  and  then  of  the  whole  island,  was  gradually  accom- 
plished. Canterbury  has  always  maintained  its  early  preeminence 
and  may  still  be  considered  the  religious  capital  of  England.-^ 

England  thus  became  a  part  of  the  ever-growing  territory  em- 
braced in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  remained  for  nearly 
a  thousand  years  as  faithful  to  the  Pope  as  any  other  Catholic 
country. 

The  conversion  of  England  by  the  missionaries  from  Rome  was  Early  culture 
followed  by  a  period  of  general  enthusiasm  for  Rome  and  its  '"  "^^" 
literature  and  culture.  The  English  monasteries  became  centers 
of  learning  unrivaled  perhaps  in  the  rest  of  Europe.  A  constant 
intercourse  was  maintained  with  Rome.  Masons  and  glass- 
makers  were  brought  across  the  Channel  to  replace  the  wooden 
churches  of  Britain  by  stone  edifices  in  the  style  of  the  Romans. 
The  young  English  clergy  were  taught  Latin  and  sometimes 
Greek.  Copies  of  the  ancient  classics  were  brought  from  the 
Continent  and  copied.  The  most  distinguished  writer  of  the 
seventh  and  early  eighth  centuries  in  Europe  was  the  English 
monk  Baeda  (often  called  "The  Venerable  Bede,"  673-735), 
from  whose  admirable  history  of  the  Church  in  England  most 
of  our  information  about  the  period  is  derived.^ 

In  718  St.  Boniface,  an  English  monk,  was  sent  by  the  Pope  St.  Boniface, 
as  a  missionary  to  the  Germans.  After  four  years  spent  in  re-  ^^e  c'ermanr 
connoitering  the  field  of  his  future  labors,  he  visited  Rome  and 
was  made  a  missionary  bishop,  taking  the  same  oath  of  obedi- 
ence to  the  Pope  that  the  bishops  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
Rome  were  accustomed  to  take.  Indeed,  absolute  subordination 
to  the  Pope  was  a  part  of  his  religion,  and  he  became  a  powerful 
agent  in  extending  the  papal  power. 

Boniface  succeeded  in  converting  many  of  the  more  remote   Conversion 
German  tribes  who  still  clung  to  their  old  pagan  beliefs.    His 
energetic  methods  are  illustrated  by  the  story  of  how  he  cut 

1  See  Readings,  chap,  v,  for  Gregory's  instructions  to  his  missionaries. 

2  See  Readings,  chap,  v. 


358 


Outlines  erf  Eu7'opean  History 


down  the  sacred  oak  of  the  old  German  god  Odin,  at  Fritzlar, 
in  Hesse,  and  used  the  wood  to  build  a  chapel,  around  which  a 
monastery  soon  grew  up.  In  732  Pjoniface  was  raised  to  the 
dignity  of  Archbishop  of  Mayence  and  proceeded  to  establish 
in  the  newly  converted  region  a  number  of  German  bishoprics, 
Salzburg,  Regensburg,  Wiirzburg,  and  others;  this  gives  us  some 
idea  of  the  geographical  extent  of  his  labors. 

Section  58.    Mohammed  and  his  Religion 


Arabs  before 
Mohammed 


Mecca  and 
the  Kaaba 


Just  at  the  time  that  Gregory  the  Great  was  doing  so  much 
to  strengthen  the  power  and  influence  of  the  popes  in  Rome, 
a  young  Arab  camel  driver  in  far-away  Mecca  was  meditat- 
ing upon  the  mysteries  of  life  and  devising  a  religion  which  was 
destined  to  spread  with  astounding  rapidity  into  Asia,  Africa, 
and  Europe  and  to  become  a  great  rival  of  Christianity.  And 
to-day  the  millions  who  believe  in  Mohammed  as  God's  greatest 
prophet  are  probably  equal  in  number  to  those  who  are  faithful 
to  the  Pope,  as  the  head  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

Before  the  time  of  Mohammed  the  Arabs  (a  branch  of  the 
great  Semitic  people)  had  played  no  great  part  in  the  w^orld's 
history.  The  scattered  tribes  were  constantly  at  war  with  one 
another,  and  each  tribe  worshiped  its  own  gods,  when  it  wor- 
shiped at  all.  Mecca  was  considered  a  sacred  spot,  however, 
and  the  fighting  was  stopped  four  months  each  year  so  that  all 
could  peacefully  visit  the  Kaaba,  a  sort  of  temple  full  of  idols 
and  containing  in  particular  a  black  stone,  about  as  long  as  a 
man's  hand,  which  was  regarded  as  specially  worthy  of  reverence. 

Mohammed  was  poor  and  earned  a  living  by  conducting 
caravans  across  the  desert.  He  was  so  fortunate  as  to  find  a 
rich  widow  in  Mecca,  named  Kadijah,  w^ho  gave  him  employ- 
ment and  later  fell  in  love  with  him  and  became  his  wife.  She 
was  his  first  convert  and  kept  up  his  courage  when  few  of  his 
fellow  townsmen  in  Mecca  were  inclined  to  pay  any  attention 
to  his  new  religious  teachings. 


The  MoJimnmedans  359 

As  Mohammed  traveled  back  and  forth  across  the  desert  with   Mohammed's 
his  trains  of  camels  heavily  laden  with  merchandise  he  had  plenty   from^he^An- 
of  time  to  think,  and  he  became  convinced  that  God  was  sending  S^i  Gabriel 
him  messages  which  it  was  his  duty  to  reveal  to  mankind.    He 
met  many  Jews  and  Christians,  of  whom  there  were  great  num- 
bers in  Arabia,  and  from  them  he  got  some  ideas  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.    But  when  he  tried  to  convince  people  that  he 
was  God's  prophet,  and  that  the  Angel  Gabriel  had  appeared  to 
him  in  his  dreams  and  told  him  of  a  new  religion,  he  was  treated 
with  scorn. 

Finally,  he  discovered  that  his  enemies  in  Mecca  were  plan-  The  Hcjira, 
ning  to  kill  him,  and  he  fled  to  the  neighboring  town  of  Medina, 
where  he  had  friends.  His  flight,  which  took  place  in  the  year 
622,  is  called  the  Ilejmi  by  the  Arabs.  It  was  taken  by  his 
followers  as  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  —  the  year  One,  as 
the  Mohammedans  reckon  time. 

A  war  followed  between  the  people  of  Mecca  and  those  who  islam 
had  joined  Mohammed  in  and  about  Medina.  It  was  eight  years 
before  his  followers  became  numerous  enough  to  enable  him  to 
march  upon  Mecca  and  take  it  with  a  victorious  army.  Before 
his  death  in  632  he  had  gained  the  support  of  all  the  Arab 
chiefs,  and  his  new  religion,  which  he  called  Islam  (submission 
to  God),  was  accepted  throughout  the  whole  Arabian  peninsula. 

Mohammed  could  probably  neither  write  nor  read  well,  but  The  Koran 
when  he  fell  into  trances  from  time  to  time  he  would  repeat  to 
his  eager  listeners  the  words  which  he  heard  from  heaven,  and 
they  in  turn  wrote  them  down.  These  sayings,  which  were  col- 
lected into  a  volume  shortly  after  his  death,  form  the  Koran^  the 
Mohammedan  Bible.  This  contains  the  chief  beliefs  of  the  new 
religion  as  well  as  the  laws  under  which  all  good  Mohammedans 
were  to  live.  It  has  been  translated  into  English  several  times. 
Parts  of  it  are  very  beautiful  and  interesting,  while  other  portions 
are  dull  and  stupid  to  a  modern  reader. 

The  Koran  follows  the  Jewish  and  Christian  religions  in  pro- 
claiming one  God,  "  the  Lord  of  the  worlds,  the  merciful  and 


36o 


Outlines  of  European  Histo7y 


The  creed 
and  prayers 


compassionate."  Mohammed  believed  that  there  had  been  great 
prophets  before  him,  —  Abraham,  Moses,  and  Jesus  among 
others, — but   that   he   himself  was   the  last  and  greatest  of 

God's  messengers,  who 
brought  the  final  and 
highest  form  of  religion 
to  mankind.  He  de- 
stroyed all  the  idols  in 
the  Kaaba  at  Mecca 
and  forbade  his  follow- 
ers to  make  any  images 
whatsoever  —  but  he 
left  the  black  stone. 

Besides  serving  the 
one  God,  the  Moham- 
medan was  to  honor  his 
parents,  aid  the  poor, 
protect  the  orphan, 
keep  his  contracts,  give 
full  measure,  and  weigh 
with  a  just  balance.  He 
was  not  to  walk  proudly 
on  the  earth,  or  to  be 
wasteful, "  for  the  waste- 
ful were  ever  the  devil's 
brothers."  He  was  to 
avoid,  moreover,  all 
strong  drink,  and  this 
command  has  saved 
Mohammed's  faithful 
followers  from  the  terrible  degradation  which  alcohol  has  made 
so  common  in  our  Western  world. 

Besides  obeying  these  and  other  commands  the  Mohammedan 
who  would  be  saved  must  do  five  things :  First,  he  must  recite 
daily    the    simple    creed,    "  There    is   no    god   but   God,    and 


Fig.  142.   Arabic  \\'ritl\g 

This  is  a  page  from  the  Koran,  with  an 
elaborate  decorated  border.  It  gives  an 
idea  of  the  appearance  of  Arabic  writing. 
The  Arabic  letters  are,  next  to  the  Roman 
alphabet,  which  we  use,  the  most  widely 
employed  in  the  world 


The  Mohaminedaiis 


361 


Mohammed  is  his  prophet."    Secondly,  he  must  pray  five  times 
a  day  —  just  before  sunrise,  just  after  noon,  before  and  after 
sunset,  and  when  the  day  has  closed.     It  is  not  uncommon  to 
see    in    well-furnished    houses    in    this    country    the    so-called 
"  prayer  rugs  "  brought  from  Mohammedan  countries.     These 
are  spread  down  on  the  ground  or  the  flat  roof  of  the  oriental 
house,  and  on  them  the  worshiper  kneels  to  pray,  turning  his 
face  toward  Mecca 
and  bowing  his  head 
to  the  ground.  The 
pattern  on  the  rug 
indicates   the  place 
where    the    bowed 
head  is  to  be  placed. 
Thirdly,  the. Moham- 
medan    must     fast 
during    the    whole 
month  of  rainadan  ; 
he  may  neither  eat 
nor  drink  from  sun- 
rise to   sunset,   for 
this    is    the    month 
in  which  God  sent 

Gabriel  down  from  the  seventh  heaven  to  bring  the  Koran, 
which  he  revealed,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  to  Mohammed. 
Fourthly,  the  Mohammedan  must  give  alms  to  the  poor,  and.  Pilgrimage 
fifthly,  he  must,  if  he  can,  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  at 
least  once  during  his  lifetime.  Tens  of  thousands  of  pilgrims 
flock  to  Mecca  every  year.  They  enter  the  great  courtyard 
surrounding  the  Kaaba,  which  is  a  plain,  almost  cubical, 
building,  supposed  to  have  been  built  in  the  first  place  by 
Abraham.  The  sacred  black  stone  is  fixed  in  the  outside  wall 
at  the  southeast  corner,  and  the  pilgrims  must  circle  the  build- 
ing seven  times,  kissing  the  black  stone  each  time  as  they  pass 
it  (Fig.  144). 


Fig.  143. 


Mohammedan  kneeling  on 
A  Prayer  Rug 


to  Mecca 


4mm  t  ;U# 


36; 


Plate  VI.  Street  Scene  in  Cairo 


The  Mohamvicdans 


;63 


Moham- 
medan hell 


Heaven 


The  Koran  announces  a  day  of  judgment  when  the  heavens 
shall  be  opened  and  the  mountains  be  powdered  and  become 
like  flying  dust.  Then  all  men  shall  receive  their  reward.  Those 
who  have  refused  to  accept  Islam  shall  be  banished  to  hell  to 
be  burned  and  tormented  forever.  "  They  shall  not  taste  therein 
coolness  or  drink,  save  scalding  water  and  running  sores,"  and 
the  scalding  water  they  shall  drink  like  thirsty  camels. 

Those,  on  the  other  hand,  who  have  obeyed  the  Koran, 
especially  those  who  die  fighting  for  Islam,  shall  find  themselves 
in  a  garden  of  delight.  They  shall  recline  in  rich  brocades 
upon  soft  cushions  and  rugs  and  be  served  by  surpassingly 
beautiful  maidens,  with  eyes  like  hidden  pearls.  Wine  may  be 
drunk  there,  but  "their  heads  shall  not  ache  with  it,  neither  shall 
they  be  confused."  They  shall  be  content  with  their  past  life 
and  shall  hear  no  foolish  words ;  and  there  shall  be  no  sin  but 
only  the  greeting,  "  Peace,  peace." 

The  religion  of  Mohammed  was  much  simpler  than  that  of  the  The  mosque 
medieval  Christian  Church  ;  it  did  not  provide  for  a  priesthood 
or  for  any  great  number  of  ceremonies.  The  Mohammedan 
mosque,  or  temple,  is  a  house  of  prayer  and  a  place  for  reading  the 
Koran  ;  no  altars  or  images  or  pictures  of  any  kind  are  permitted 
in  it.  The  mosques  are  often  very  beautiful  buildings,  especially 
in  great  Mohammedan  cities,  such  as  Jerusalem,  Damascus, 
Cairo,  and  Constantinople.  They  have  great  courts  surrounded 
by  covered  colonnades  and  are  adorned  with  beautiful  marbles 
and  mosaics  and  delightful  windows  with  bright  stained  glass. 
The  walls  are  adorned  with  passages  from  the  Koran,  and  the 
floors  covered  with  rich  rugs.  They  have  one  or  more  minarets 
from  which  the  call  to  prayer  is  heard  five  times  a  day. 

The  Mohammedans,  like  other  Eastern  peoples,  are  very  Women  and 
particular  to  keep  the  women  by  themselves  in  a  separate  part 
of  the  house,  called  the  harein^  or  women's  quarters.  They 
may  not  go  out  without  the  master's  permission  and  even  then 
not  without  wearing  a  veil ;  no  man  must  ever  see  a  respectable 
woman's  face,  except  her  father,  brother,  or  husband.  The  Koran 


the  harem 


364 


Outlines  of  European  Histoiy 


Slaves 


permits  a  man  to  have  as  many  as  four  wives,  but  in  practice 
only  the  men  of  the  richer  classes  have  more  than  one.  For  a 
woman  to  attempt  to  escape  from  the  harem  is  a  crime  punish- 
able with  death.  Sometimes  the  women  seem  to  lead  pleasant 
lives,  but,  for  the  most  part,  their  existence  is  very  monotonous.^ 
Slaves  are  very  common  in  Mohammedan  countries,  but 
once  they  are  freed  they  are  as  good  as  any  one  else  and  may 
then  hold  the  highest  places  in  the  government. 


Section  59.    Conquests  of  the  Mohammedans  ; 
THE  Caliphate 


The  Arabs' 
conquests. 
Caliphs  at 
Damascus 


Caliphs 
at  Bagdad 


Mohammed  had  occupied  the  position  of  pope  and  king 
combined,  and  his  successors,  who  took  the  title  of  caliph 
(which  means  "  successor  "  or  "  representative  "),  were  regarded 
as  the  absolute  rulers  of  the  Mohammedans.  Their  word  was 
law  in  both  religious  and  worldly  matters.  Mohammed's  father- 
in-law  was  the  first  caliph.  His  successor,  Omar  (634-644),  led 
the  Arabs  forth  to  conquer  Syria,  Egypt,  and  the  great  empire 
of  Persia.  The  capital  of  the  caliphate  was  then  transferred 
from  Medina  to  Damascus,  which  occupied  a  far  better  position 
for  governing  the  new  realms.  Although  the  Mohammedans 
were  constantly  fighting  among  themselves,  they  succeeded  in 
extending  their  territory  so  as  to  include  Asia  Minor  and  the 
northern  coast  of  Africa,  A  great  part  of  the  people  whom  they 
conquered  accepted  the  new  religion  of  the  prophet. 

Something  over  a  hundred  years  after  Mohammed's  death  a 
new  line  of  caliphs  came  into  power  and  established  (762)  a 
new  capital  on  the  river  Tigris  near  the  site  of  ancient  Babylon. 
This  new  city  of  Bagdad  became  famous  for  its  wealth,  magnifi- 
cence, and  learning.  It  was  five  miles  across  and  at  one  time 
is  supposed  to  have  had  two  millions  of  inhabitants.     In  the 


1  The  colored  plate  (opp.  p.  362)  shows  the  minarets  of  a  great  mosque  in  Cairo. 
One  can  also  see  the  gratings  of  the  upper  stories  of  the  houses,  through  which 
the  women  can  look  out  of  their  harem  without  being  seen  from  the  street. 


365 


366 


Outlines  of  European  TJistory 


"  The  Arabian 
Nights' Enter- 


ninth  century  it  was  probably  the  richest  and  most  splendid 
city  in  the  world. 

The  most  entertaining  example  of  Arabic  literature  which 
has  been  translated  into  English  is  the  "  Thousand  and  One 
Nights,"  or  "  The  Arabian  Nights'  Entertainments,"  as  it  is  com- 
monly called.  These  include  the  story  of  "  Sindbad  the  Sailor," 
"  Aladdin  and  the  Lamp,"  "  Ali  Baba  and  the  Forty  Thieves," 
and  other  famous  tales.  The  great  collection  was  got  together  in 
Egypt,  perhaps  in  the  fifteenth  century,  but  many  of  the  stories 
are  very  much  older  and  were  translated  by  the  Arabs  from  the 
Persian,  when  the  caliphs  of  Bagdad  were  at  the  height  of  their 
power.  Some  of  these  stories  give  one  a  lively  idea  of  Moham- 
medan manners  and 'customs. 

The  Mohammedans  made  t\yo  or  three  attempts  to  cross 
over  from  Asia  into  Europe  and  take  Constantinople,  the  capital 
of  the  Eastern  Empire,  but  failed.  It  was  more  than  eight 
hundred  years  after  Mohammed's  death  that  the  Turks,  a 
Mohammedan  people,  succeeded  in  this,  and  Constantinople  is 
now  a  Mohammedan  city  and  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  is  the 
nominal  head  of  Islam.  Long  before  the  Turks  captured  Con- 
stantinople, however,  the  Arabs  at  the  other  end  of  the  caliph's 
empire  had  succeeded  in  crossing  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar  from 
Africa  and  possessing  themselves  of  Spain. 

The  kingdom  of  the  West  Goths  was  in  no  condition  to 
defend  itself  when  a  few  Arabs  and  a  much  larger  number 
of  Berbers,  inhabitants  of  northern  Africa,  ventured  to  invade 
Spain.  Some  of  the  Spanish  towns  held  out  for  a  time,  but  the 
invaders  found  allies  in  the  numerous  Jews,  who  had  been  shame- 
fully treated  by  their  Christian  countrymen.  As  for  the  innumer- 
able serfs  who  worked  on  the  great  estates  of  the  aristocracy, 
a  change  of  landlords  made  very  little  difference  to  them.  In  7 1 1 
the  Arabs  and  Berbers  gained  a  great  battle,  and  the  peninsula 
was  gradually  overrun  by  new  immigrants  from  Africa. 

In  seven  years  the  Mohammedans  were  masters  of  almost 
the  whole  region  south  of  the  Pyrenees.     They  then  began  to 


TJie  Mohamineda?is 


367 


cross  into  Gaul.  For  some  years 
the  Duke  of  Aquitaine  kept  them 
in  check;  but  in  732  they  col- 
lected a  large  army,  defeated  the 
duke  near  Bordeaux,  advanced 
to  Poitiers,  and  then  set  out  for 
Tours. 

Here  they  met  the  army  of 
the  Franks  which  Charles  the 
Hammer  (Martel),  the  king's 
chief  minister,  had  brought  to- 
gether to  meet  the  new  danger. 
\\q  know  very  little  indeed  of 
this  famous  battle  of  Tours,  ex- 
cept that  the  Mohammedans 
were  repulsed,  and  that  they 
never  again  made  any  serious 
attempt  to  conquer  western 
Europe  beyond  the  Pyrenees. 
They  retired  to  Spain  and  there 
developed  a  great  and  prosper- 
ous kingdom,  far  in  advance  of 
the  Christian  kingdoms  to  the 
north  of  them. 

Some  of  the  buildings  which 
they  erected  soon  after  their 
arrival  still  stand.  Among  these 
is  the  mosque  at  Cordova  with 
its  forest  of  columns  and  arches.^ 
They  also  erected  a  great  tower 
at  Seville  (Fig.  147).  This  has 
been  copied  by  the  architects  of 

1  The  great  mosque,  which  the  Mo- 
hammedan rulers  built  at  Cordova  (Fig. 
145)  on  the  site  of  a  Christian  church  of 
the  West  Goths,  was  second  in  size  only 


ill      ., 


?aM^ 


^^^11 


^H 


Fig.  147.    GiRALDA 

This  tower,  called  the  Giralda, 
was  originally  the  great  minaret 
of  the  chief  mosque  at  Seville. 
It  was  built  (1184-1196)  out  of 
Roman  and  West  Gothic  mate- 
rials, and  many  Roman  inscrip- 
tions are  to  be  seen  on  the 
stones  used  for  the  walls.  Orig- 
inally the  tower  was  lower  than 
it  now  is.  All  the  upper  part, 
including  the  story  where  the 
bells  hang,  was  rebuilt  by  the 
Christians  after  they  drove 
the  Moors  out  of  the  city 


368  Outlines  of  European  Histoiy 

Madison  Square  Garden  in  New  York.  The  Mohammedans 
built  beautiful  palaces  and  laid  out  charming  gardens.  One  of 
these  palaces,  the  Alhambra,  built  at  Granada  some  centuries 
after  their  arrival  in  Spain,  is  a  marvel  of  lovely  detail  (Fig.  146). 
They  also  founded  a  great  university  at  Cordova,  to  which  Chris- 
tians from  the  North  sometimes  went  in  search  of  knowledge. 
iMoors  far  Historians  commonly  regard  it  as  a  matter  of  great  good  luck 

the  Franks  that  Charles  the  Hammer  and  his  barbarous  soldiers  succeeded 
in  defeating  and  driving  back  the  Mohammedans  at  Tours.  But 
had  they  been  permitted  to  settle  in  southern  France  they  might 
have  developed  science  and  art  far  more  rapidly  than  did  the 
Franks.  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  it  was  a  good  thing  or  a 
bad  thing  that  the  Moors,  as  the  Mohammedans  in  Spain  were 
called,  did  not  get  control  of  a  portion  of  Gaul. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  56,  What  various  reasons  led  men  to  enter  monasteries.'* 
When  and  where  did  Christian  monasteries  originate  t  Give  some 
of  the  chief  provisions  of  St.  Benedict's  Rule.  What  is  meant  by  the 
"regular"  and  the  "secular"  clergy.?  Why  did  the  monks  some- 
times devote  part  of  their  time  to  copying  books.'*  Describe  the 
general  plan  of  a  monastery. 

Section  57.  Tell  about  the  conversion  of  the  king  of  Kent.  Did 
England  become  a  part  of  the  medieval  Catholic  Church .? 

Section  ^%.  Give  a  short  account  of  Mohammed's  life.  Define 
Kaaba,  Islam,  Koran.  What  does  the  Mohammedan  religion  require 
of  its  adherents  t 

Section  59.  What  countries  did  the  Mohammedans  conquer 
during  the  century  following  Mohammed's  death  ?  Where  is  Mecca, 
Bagdad,  Damascus,  Cordova?  Tell  what  you  can  of  the  Moorish 
buildings  in  Spain. 

to  the  Kaaba  at  Mecca  (Fig.  144).  It  was  begun  about  785  and  gradually  en- 
larged and  beautified  during  the  following  two  centuries,  with  the  hope  that  it 
would  rival  Mecca  as  a  place  of  pilgrimage.  The  part  represented  in  the  illus- 
tration was  built  by  Caliph  Al-Hakim,  who  came  to  the  throne  in  961.  The 
beautiful  holy  of  holies  (the  entrance  of  which  may  be  seen  in  the  background) 
is  richly  adorned  with  magnificent  mosaics.  The  whole  mosque  is  570  by  425  feet ; 
that  is,  about  the  size  of  St.  Peter's  in  Rome. 


CHAPTER  XV 

CHARLEMAGNE  AND  HIS  EMPIRE 

Section  6o.    Conquests  of  Charlemagne 

We  have  seen  how  the  kings  of  the  Franks,  Clovis  and  How  Pippin 
his  successors,  conquered  a  large  territory,  including  western  of the'FranlS 
Germany  and  what  is  called  France  to-day.    As  time  went  on,   Z^^^  ^,^^ 

-^  -'  •  '     Pope's  ap- 

the  king's  chief  minister,  who  was  called  the  Mayor  of  the  proval,  752 
Palace,  got  almost  all  the  power  into  his  hands  and  really  ruled 
in  the  place  of  the  king.  Charles  Martel,  who  defeated  the 
Mohammedans  at  Tours  in  732,  was  the  Mayor  of  the  Palace 
of  the  western  Frankish  king.  His  son,  Pippin  the  Short,  finally 
determined  to  do  away  altogether  with  the  old  line  of  kings  and 
put  himself  in  their  place.  Before  taking  the  decisive  step,  how- 
ever, he  consulted  the  Pope.  To  Pippin's  question  whether  it 
was  right  that  the  old  line  of  kings  should  continue  to  reign 
when  they  no  longer  had  any  power,  the  Pope  replied :  "  It 
seems  better  that  he  who  has  the  power  in  the  State  should  be 
king,  and  be  called  king,  rather  than  he  who  is  falsely  called 
king."  With  this  sanction,  then  (752),  the  Frankish  counts  and 
dukes,  in  accordance  with  the  old  German  ceremony,  raised 
Pippin  on  their  shields,  in  somewhat  the  way  college  boys  now- 
adays carry  off  a  successful  football  player  on  their  shoulders. 
He  was  then  anointed  king  by  St.  Boniface,  the  apostle  to  the 
Germans,  of  whom  we  have  spoken,  and  received  the  blessing 
of  the  Pope.^ 

It  would  hardly  be  necessary  to  mention  this  change  of  dynasty 
in  so  short  a  history  as  this,  were  it  not  that  the  calling  in  of  the 

1  The    old  line  of  kings  which  was  displaced  by   Pippin  is  known  as  the 
Merovingian  line.     Pippin  and  his  successors  are  called  the  Carolingian  line, 
I  369 


370 


Outlines  of  JinropciDi  History 


coronation 
of  Pippin 
a  religious 
ceremony 


Charle- 
magne, 
ca.  742-814 


Pope  brought  about  a  revolution  in  the  ideas  of  kingship.  The 
kings  of  the  German  tribes  had  hitherto  usually  been  suecessful 
warriors  who  held  their  office  with  the  consent  of  the  people, 
or  at  least  of  the  nobles.  Their  election  was  not  a  matter  that 
concerned  the  Church  at  all..  But  when,  after  asking  the  Pope's 
opinion,  Pippin  had  the  holy  oil  poured  on  his  head,  —  in  ac- 
cordance with  an  ancient  religious  custom  of  the  Jews,  —  first 

by  Bishop  Boniface  and  later  by 
the  Pope  himself,  he  seemed  to 
ask  the  Church  to  approve  his 
usurpation.  As  the  historian  Gib- 
bon puts  it,  "A  German  chieftain 
was  transformed  into  the  Lord's 
anointed."  The  Pope  threatened 
with  God's  anger  any  one  who 
should  attempt  to  supplant  the 
consecrated  family  of  Pippin. 

It  thus  became  a  religious  duty 
to  obey  the  king  and  his  succes- 
sors.   He  came  to  be  regarded 
by    the    Church,    when    he    had 
received   its  approval,   as  God's 
representative    on    earth.     Here 
we   have   the   beginning   of   the 
later    theory   of   kings   "  by   the 
grace  of  God,"  against  whom  it 
was  a  sin  to  revolt,  however  bad  they  might  be.    We  shall  see 
presently  how  Pippin's  famous  son  Charlemagne  received  his 
crown  from  the  hands  of  the  Pope. 

Charlemagne,  who  became  king  of  all  the  Prankish  realms  in 
771,  is  the  first  historical  personage  among  the  German  peoples 
of  whom  we  have  any  satisfactory  knowledge.^  Compared  with 

1  "  Charlemagne  "  is  the  French  form  for  the  Latin  Carohis  Magnus  (Charles 
the  Great).  We  must  never  forget,  however,  that  Charlemagne  was  a  Gennan, 
that  he  talked  a  German  language,  namely  Prankish,  and  that  his  favorite  palaces 
at  Aix-Ia-Chapelle,  Ingelheim,  and  Nimwegen  were  in  German  regions. 


Fig.  148.    Charlemagne 

This  bronze  figure  of  Charle- 
magne on  horseback  was  made 
in  his  time,  and  the  artist  may 
have  succeeded  in  reproducing 
the  general  appearance  of  the 
Emperor 


Charlemagne  and  his  Empi 


17 


him,  Theodoric,  Clovis,  Charles  Martel,  Pippin,  and  the  rest  are 
but  shadowy  figures.  The  chronicles  tell  us  something  of  their 
deeds,  but  we  can  make  only  the  vaguest  inferences  in  regard 
to  their  appearance  or 
character. 

Charlemagne's  looks, 
as  described  by  his  sec- 
retary, so  exactly  corre- 
spond with  the  character 
of  the  king  as  exhibited 
in  his  reign  that  they  are 
worthy  of  attention.  He 
was  tall  and  stoutly  built ; 
his  face  was  round,  his 
eyes  were  large  and  keen, 
his  nose  somewhat  above 
the  common  size,  his 
expression  bright  and 
cheerful.  The  good  pro- 
portions and  grace  of  his 
body  prevented  the  ob- 
server from  noticing  that 
his  neck  was  rather  short 
and  his  person  somewhat 
too  stout.  His  voice  was 
clear,  but  rather  weak' 
for  his  big  body.  He 
delighted  in  riding  and 
hunting,  and  was  an  ex- 
pert swimmer.  His  ex- 
cellent   health    and    his 


X|^ 

rj- 

^^ 

1 

i 

1 

4i 

H 

1 

~M; 

a 

H 

1    w 

c 

, 

„ 

'' 

Fig.  149.   Charlemagne  and 
HIS  Wife 

There  is  no  picture  of  Charlemagne  that 
we'  can  be  sure  looked  like  him.  The 
rather  comical  one  here  given  occurs  in  a 
law  document  of  about  the  year  820  and 
shows  what  passed  for  a  picture  in  those 
days.  It  may  be  meant  for  Charlemagne 
and  his  wife,  but  some  think  that  it  is  a 
rehgious  painting  representing  the  Angel 
Gabriel  announcing  the  birth  of  Jesus  to 
the  Virgin  Mary 


physical  endurance  can 
alone  explain  the  astonishing  swiftness  with  which  he  moved 
about  his  vast  realm  and  conducted  innumerable  campaigns 
against  his  enemies  in  widely  distant  regions  in  rapid  succession. 


372 


Outlines  of  EuropctDi  Histoiy 


Charles  was  an  educated  man  for  his  time,  and  one  who  knew 
how  to  appreciate  and  encourage  scholarship.  While  at  dinner 
he  had  some  one  read  to  him  ;  he  delighted  especially  in  history, 
and  in  St.  Augustine's  City  of  God.  He  tried  to  learn  writing, 
which  was  an  unusual  accomplishment  at  that  time  for  any  but 
churchmen,  but  began  too  late  in  life  and  got  no  farther  than 
signing  his  name.  He  called  learned  men  to  his  court  and  did 
much  toward  reestablishing  a  regular  system  of  schools.  He 
was  also  constantly  occupied  with  buildings  and  other  public 
works  calculated  to  adorn  his  kingdom.  He  himself  planned  the 
remarkable  cathedral  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  and  showed  the  greatest 
interest  in  its  furnishings.  He  commenced  two  palaces,  one 
near  Mayence  and  the  other  at  Nirnwegen,  in  Holland,  and  had 
a  long  bridge  constructed  across  the  Rhine  at  Mayence. 

The  impression  which  his  reign  made  upon  men's  minds  con- 
tinued to  grow  even  after  his  death.  He  became  the  hero  of  a 
whole  series  of  romantic  adventures  which  were  as  firmly  be- 
lieved for  centuries  as  his  real  deeds.  In  the  fancy  of  an  old 
monk  in  the  monaster}^  of  St.  Gall,^  writing  of  Charlemagne  not 
long  after  his  death,  the  king  of  the  Franks  swept  over  Europe 
surrounded  by  countless  legions  of  soldiers  who  formed  a  very 
sea  of  bristling  steel.  Knights  of  superhuman  valor  formed  his 
court  and  became  the  models  of  knighthood  for  the  following 
centuries.  Distorted  but  imposing,  the  Charlemagne  of  poeti-y 
meets  us  all  through  the  Middle  Ages. 

A  study  of  Charlemagne's  reign  will  make  clear  that  he  was 
a  truly  remarkable  person,  one  of  the  greatest  figures  in  the 
world's  records  and  deservedly  the  hero  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

It  was  Charlemagne's  ideal  to  bring  all  the  German  peoples 
together  into  one  great  Christian  empire,  and  he  was  wonder- 
fully successful  in  attaining  his  end.  Only  a  small  portion  of 
what  is  now  called  Germany  was  included  in  the  kingdom  ruled 


.1  Professor  Emerton  {Introduction^  pp.  183-185)  gives  an  example  of  the 
style  and  spirit  of  the  monk  of  St.  Gall,  who  was  formerly  much  relied  upon 
for  knowledge  of  Charlemagne. 


CJiarlcmagne  and  his  Entpife  373 

over  by  Charlemagne's  father,  Pippin  the  Short.  Frisia  and 
Bavaria  had  been  Christianized,  and  their  rulers  had  been  in- 
duced by  the  efforts  of  Charlemagne's  predecessors  and  of  the 
missionaries,  especially  Boniface,  to  recognize  the  overlordship 
of  the  Franks.  Between  these  two  half-independent  countries 
lay  the  unconquered  Saxons.  They  were  as  yet  pagans  and 
appear  still  to  have  clung  to  much  the  same  institutions  as  those 
under  which  they  had  lived  when  the  Roman  historian  Tacitus 
described  them  seven  centuries  earlier. 

The  Saxons  occupied  the  region  beginning  somewhat  east  The  con- 
of  Cologne  and  extending  to  the  Elbe,  and  north  to  where  the  saxons 
great  cities  of  Bremen  and  Hamburg  are  now  situated.  They 
had  no  towns  or  roads  and  were  consequently  very  difficult  to 
conquer,  as  they  could  retreat,  with  their  few  possessions,  into 
the  forests  or  swamps  as  soon  as  they  found  themselves  unable 
to  meet  an  invader  in  the  open  field.  Yet  so  long  as  they 
remained  unconquered  they  constantly  threatened  the  Frankish 
kingdom,  and  their  country  was  necessar)'  to  the  rounding  out 
of  its  boundaries.  Charlemagne  never  undertook,  during  his 
long  military  career,  any  other  task  half  so  serious  as  the 
subjugation  of  the  Saxons,  which  occupied  many  years. 

Nowhere  do  we  find  a  more  striking  example  of  the  influence 
of  the  Church  than  in  the  reliance  that  Charlemagne  placed 
upon  it  in  his  dealings  with  the  Saxons.  He  deemed  it  quite 
as  essential  that  after  a  rebellion  they  should  promise  to  honor 
the  Church  and  be  baptized,  as  that  they  should  pledge  them- 
selves to  remain  true  and  faithful  subjects  of  the  king.  He  was 
in  quite  as  much  haste  to  found  bishoprics  and  monasteries  as 
to  build  fortresses.  The  law  for  the  newly  conquered  Saxon 
lands  issued  some  time  between  775  and  790  provides  the  same 
death  penalty  for  him  who  "  shall  have  shown  himself  unfaithful 
to  the  lord  king  "  and  him  who  "  shall  scorn  to  come  to  baptism 
and  shall  wish  to  remain  a  pagan." 

Charlemagne  believed  the  Christianizing  of  the  Saxons  so 
important  a  part  of  his  duty  that  he  decreed  that  any  one  should 


374 


Oittlincs  of  Ru7'opean  History 


suffer  death  who  broke  into  a  church  and  carried  off  anything 
by  force.  No  one,  under  penalty  of  heavy  fines,  was  to  make 
vows,  in  the  pagan  fashion,  at  trees  or  springs,  or  partake  of 
any  heathen  feasts  in  honor  of  the  demons  (as  the  Christians 
termed  the  heathen  gods),  or  fail  to  present  infants  for  baptism 
before  they  were  a  year  old. 

These  provisions  are  characteristic  of  the  theory  of  the  Middle 
Ages  according  to  which  the  government  and  the  Church  went 
hand  in  hand  in  ordering  and  governing  the  life  of  the  people. 
Disloyalty  to  the  Church  was  regarded  by  the  State  as  quite  as 
serious  a  crime  as  treason  against  itself.  While  the  claims  of  the 
two  institutions  sometimes  conflicted,  there  was  no  question  in 
the  minds  either  of  the  king's  officials  or  of  the  clergy  that  both 
the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  governments  were  absolutely  neces- 
sary ;  neither  of  them  ever  dreamed  that  they  could  get  along 
without  the  other. 

Before  the  Frankish  conquest  the  Saxons  had  no  towns.  Now, 
around  the  seat  of  the  bishop,  or  about  a  monastery,  men  be- 
gan to  collect,  and  towns  and  cities  grew  up.  Of  these  the 
chief  was  Bremen,  which  is  still  one  of  the  most  important 
ports  of  Germany. 

Summoned  by  the  Pope  to  protect  him  from  his  old  enemies 
the  Lombards,  Charlemagne  invaded  Lombardy  in  773  with  a 
great  army  and  took  Pavia,  the  capital,  after  a  long  siege.  The 
Lombard  king  was  forced  to  become  a  monk,  and  his  treasure 
was  divided  among  the  Frankish  soldiers.  Charlemagne  then 
took  the  extremely  important  step,  in  774,  of  having  himself 
recognized  by  all  the  Lombard  dukes  and  counts  as  king  of 
the  Lombards. 

So  far  we  have  spoken  only  of  the  relations  of  Charlemagne 
with  the  Germans,  for  even  the  Lombard  kingdom  was  estab- 
lished by  the  Germans.  He  had,  however,  other  peoples  to  deal 
with,  especially  the  Slavs  on  the  east  (who  were  one  day  to  build 
up  the  kingdoms  of  Poland  and  Bohemia  and  the  vast  Russian 
empire)  and,  on  the  opposite  boundary  of  his  dominion,  the 


20     from        Greenwicb 


CJiarlemagne  and  his  Empire  375 

Moors  in  Spain.  Against  these  it  was  necessary  to  protect  his 
realms,  and  the  second  part  of  Charlemagne's  reign  was  devoted 
to  what  may  be  called  his  foreign  policy,  A  single  campaign 
in  789  seems  to  have  sufficed  to  subdue  the  Slavs,  who  lay  to 
the  north  and  east  of  the  Saxons,  and  to  force  the  Bohemians 
to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  Frankish  king  and  pay 
tribute  to  him. 

The  necessity  of  protecting  the  Frankish  realms  against  any  The 
new  uprising  of  these  non-German  nations  led  to  the  establish-  margraves"^ 
ment,  on  the  confines  of  the  kingdom,  of  marches,  that  is,  districts 
under  the  military  control  of  counts  of  the  march,  or  margraves} 
Their  business  was  to  prevent  any  invasion  of  the  interior  of 
the  kingdom.  Much  depended  upon  the  efficiency  of  these 
men  ;  in  many  cases  they  founded  powerful  families  and  later 
helped  to  break  up  the  empire  by  establishing  themselves  as 
practically  independent  rulers. 

At  an  assembly  that  Charlemagne  held  in  777,  ambassadors  Charlemagne 
appeared  before  him  from  certain  dissatisfied  Mohammedans  ^"  "^^'" 
in  Spain,  They  had  fallen  out  with  the  emir  of  Cordova  ^  and 
now  offered  to  become  the  faithful  subjects  of  Charlemagne 
if  he  would  come  to  their  aid.  In  consequence  of  this  embassy 
he  undertook  his  first  expedition  to  Spain  in  the  following  year. 
After  some  years  of  war  the  district  north  of  the  Ebro  was  con- 
quered by  the  Franks,  and  Charlemagne  established  there  the 
Spanish  march.  In  this  way  he  began  that  gradual  expulsion 
of  the  Mohammedans  from  the  peninsula,  which  was  to  be  car- 
ried on  by  slowly  extending  conquests  until  1492,  when  Granada, 
the  last  Mohammedan  stronghold,  fell. 

1  The  king  of  Prussia  still  has,  among  other  titles,  that  of  Margrave  of  Bran- 
denburg. The  German  word  Mark  is  often  used  for  "  march "  on  maps  of 
Germany. 

2  The  Mohammedan  caliphate  broke  up  in  the  eighth  century,  and  the  ruler 
of  Spain  first  assumed  the  title  of  emir  (about  756)  and  later  (929)  that  of  caliph. 
The  latter  title  had  originally  been  enjoyed  only  by  the  head  of  the  whole  Arab 
empire,  who  had  his  capital  at  Damascus,  and  later  at  Bagdad  (see  above,  p.  364). 


376 


Outlines  of  Euivpcaji  History 


Section  6i.    Establishment  of  a  Line  of  Emperors 
IN  the  West 

But  the  most  famous  of  all  the  achievements  of  Charle- 
magne was  his  reestablishment  of  the  Western  Empire  in  the 
year  800.  It  came  about  in  this  wise.  Charlemagne  went  to 
Rome  in  that  year  to  settle  a  dispute  between  Pope  Leo  III 
and  his  enemies.  To  celebrate  the  satisfactory  settlement  of  the 
dispute,  the  Pope  held  a  solemn  service  on  Christmas  Day  in 
St.  Peter's.  As  Charlemagne  was  kneeling  before  the  altar 
during  this  service,  the  Pope  approached  him  and  set  a  crown 
upon  his  head,  saluting  him,  amid  the  acclamations  of  those 
present,  as  "  Emperor  of  the  Romans." 

The  reasons  for  this  extraordinary  act,  which  Charlemagne  in- 
sisted took  him  completely  by  surprise,  are  given  in  one  of  the 
Prankish  histories,  the  Chronicles  of  Lorsch,  as  follows  :  "  The 
name  of  Emperor  had  ceased  among  the  Greeks,  for  they  were 
under  the  reign  of  a  woman  [the  Empress  Irene],  wherefore  it 
seemed  good  both  to  Leo,  the  apostolic  pope,  and  to  the  bishops 
who  were  in  council  with  him,  and  to  all  Christian  men,  that  they 
should  name  Charles,  king  of  the  Franks,  as  Emperor.  For  he 
held  Rome  itself,  where  the  ancient  Caesars  had  always  dwelt,  in 
addition  to  all  his  other  possessions  in  Italy,  Gaul,  and  Germany. 
Wherefore,  as  God  had  granted  him  all  these  dominions,  it 
seemed  just  to  all  that  he  should  take  the  title  of  Emperor, 
too,  when  it  was  offered  to  him  at  the  wish  of  all  Christendom." 

Charlemagne  appears  to  have  accepted  gracefully  the  honor 
thus  thrust  upon  him.  Even  if  he  had  no  right  to  the  imperial 
tide,  it  was  obviously  proper  and  wise  to  grant  it  to  him  under 
the  circumstances.  Before  his  coronation  by  the  Pope  he  was 
only  king  of  the  Franks  and  of  the  Lombards ;  but  his  con- 
quests seemed  to  give  him  a  right  to  a  higher  title  which  should 
include  all  his  outlying  realms. 

The  empire  thus  reestablished  in  the  West  was  considered  to 
be  a  continuation  of  the  Roman  Empire  founded  by  Augustus. 


Charlemagne  and  his  Empire  '^yy 

Charlemagne  was  reckoned  the  immediate  successor  of  the  Em-  Continuity  of 
peror  at  Constantinople,  Constantine  VI,  whom  Irene  had  de-  Empire"^" 
posed  and  blinded.  Yet,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the 
position  of  the  new  Emperor  had  little  in  common  with  that  of 
Augustus  or  Constantine.  In  the  first  place,  the  eastern  emperors 
continued  to  reign  in  Constantinople  for  centuries,  quite  regard- 
less of  Charlemagne  and  his  successors.  In  the  second  place,  the 
German  kings  who  wore  the  imperial  crown  after  Charlemagne 
were  generally  too  weak  really  to  rule  over  Germany  and  north- 
ern Italy,  to  say  nothing  of  the  rest  of  western  Europe.  Never- 
theless, the  Western  Empire,  which  in  the  twelfth  century  came  to 
be  called  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  endured  for  over  a  thousand 
years.  It  came  to  an  end  only  in  1806,  when  the  last  of  the  emper- 
ors, wearied  of  his  empty  if  venerable  title,  laid  down  the  crown. 

The  assumption  of  the  title  of  Emperor  was  destined  to  make  The  title  of 
the  German  rulers  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  It  constantly  led  sou'r^e^of^ 
them  into  unsuccessful  efforts  to  keep  control  over  Italy,  which 
really  lay  outside  their  natural  boundaries.  Then  the  circum-  rulers 
stances  under  which  Charlemagne  was  crowned  made  it  possible 
for  the  popes  to  claim,  later,  that  it  was  they  who  had  transferred 
the  imperial  power  from  the  old  eastern  line  of  emperors  to  Charle- 
magne and  his  family,  and  that  this  was  a  proof  of  their  right  to 
dispose  of  the  crown  as  they  pleased.  The  difficulties  which  arose 
necessitated  many  a  weary  journey  to  Rome  for  the  emperors, 
and  many  unfortunate  conflicts  between  them  and  the  popes. 


Section  62.    How  Charlemagne  carried  on 
HIS  Government 

The  task  of  governing  his  vast  dominions  taxed  even  the   Difficulty 
highly  gifted  and  untiring  Charlemagne ;  it  was  quite  beyond   g^  fa?ge™n 
the  power  of  his  successors.    The  same  difficulties  continued  to   ^^np'^^ 
exist  that  had  confronted  Charles  Martel  and  Pippin  —  above 
all,  a  scanty  royal  revenue  and  overpowerful  officials,  who  were 
apt  to  neglect  the  interests  and  commands  of  their  sovereign. 


trouble  to  the 
German 


378 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Charle- 
magne's 
farms 


Origin  of 
titles  of 
nobility 


The  dark 
century 
before  Charle- 
magne 


Cliark-magnc's  income,  like  lliat  of  all  medieval  rulers,  came 
chiefly  from  his  royal  estates,  as  there  was  no  system  of  general 
taxation  such  as  had  existed  under  the  Roman  Empire.  He 
consequently  took  the  greatest  care  that  his  numerous  planta- 
tions should  be  well  cultivated,  and  that  not  even  a  turnip  or  an 
^^^  which  was  due  him  should  be  withheld.  An  elaborate  set  of 
regulations  for  his  farms  is  preserved,  which  sheds  much  light 
upon  the  times.^ 

The  officials  upon  whom  the  Prankish  kings  were  forced  to 
rely  chiefly  were  the  counts,  the  "  hand  and  voice  of  the  king  " 
wherever  he  could  not  be  in  person.  They  were  expected  to 
maintain  order,  see  that  justice  was  done  in  their  district,  and 
raise  troops  when  the  king  needed  them.  On  the  frontier  were 
the  counts  of  the  march,  or  margraves  (marquises),  already 
mentioned.  These  titles,  together  with  that  of  duke,  still  exist 
as  titles  of  nobility  in  Europe,  although  they  are  no  longer  asso- 
ciated with  any  governmental  duties  except  in  cases  where  their 
holders  have  the  right  to  sit  in  the  upper  House  of  Parliament. 

Charlemagne  held  assemblies  of  the  nobles  and  bishops  of 
his  realm  each  spring  or  summer,  at  which  the  interests  of  the 
Empire  were  considered.  With  the  sanction  of  his  advisers  he 
issued  an  extraordinary  series  of  laws,  called  capitularies,  a  num- 
ber of  which  have  been  preserved.  \Vith  the  bishops  and  abbots 
he  discussed  the  needs  of  the  Church,  and,  above  all,  the  neces- 
sity of  better  schools  for  both  the  clergy  and  laity.  The  reforms 
which  he  sought  to  introduce  give  us  an  opportunity  of  learning 
the  condition  in  which  Europe  found  itself  after  four  hundred 
years  of  disorder. 

Charlemagne  was  the  first  important  king  since  Theodoric 
to  pay  any  attention  to  book  learning.  About  650  the  supply 
of  papyrus  —  the  kind  of  paper  that  the  Greeks  and  Romans 
used  —  had  been  cut  off,  owing  to  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by 
the  Arabs,  and  as  our  kind  of  paper  had  not  yet  been  invented, 


1  .See  extracts  from  these  regulations,  and  an  account  of  one  of  Charlemagne's 
farms,  in  Readings,  chap.  vii. 


C/iarleinagJie  and  his  Etnpire  379 

there  was  only  the  very  expensive  parchment  to  write  upon. 
Whik:  this  had  the  advantage  of  being  more  durable  than  papy- 
rus, its  high  cost  discouraged  the  copying  of  books.  The  eighth 
century — that  immediately  preceding  Charlemagne's  coronation 
-I- is  commonly  regarded  as  the  most  ignorant,  the  darkest,  and 
the  most  barbarous  period  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  this  dark  picture,  there  was  promise  for  the   The  elements 
future.    It  was  evident,  even  before  Charlemagne's  time,  that   preserved^ 
Europe  was  not  to  continue  indefinitely  in  the  path  of  ignorance.   *^^  <^hurch 
Latin  could  not  be  forgotten,  for  that  was  the  language  of  the 
Church,  and  all  its  official  communications  were  in  that  tongue. 
Consequently  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the  Church  should 
maintain  some  sort  of  education  in  order  that  there  might  be 
persons  who  knew  enough  to  write  a  Latin  letter  and  conduct 
the  church  services.    Some  of  those  who  learned  Latin  must 
have  used  it  to  read  the  old  books  written  by  the  Romans.    Then 
the  textbooks  of  th.e  later  Roman   Empire  ^  continued  to  be 
used,  and  these,  poor  as  they  were,  contained  something  about 
grammar,  arithmetic,  geometry,  astronomy,  and  other  subjects. 

It  seemed  to  Charlemagne  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Church 
not  only  to  look  after  the  education  of  its  own  officers  but  to 
provide  the  opportunity  of  at  least  an  elementary  education  for 
the  people  at  large.  In  accordance  with  this  conviction,  he  issued 
(789)  an  order  to  the  clergy  to  gather  together  the  children  of 
both  freemen  and  serfs  in  their  neighborhood  and  establish 
schools  "  in  which  the  boys  may  learn  to  read."  - 

It  would  be  impossible  to  say  how  many  of  the  abbots  and    Establish- 
bishops  established  schools  in  accordance  with  Charlemagne's   monastery 
recommendations.    It  is  certain  that  famous  centers  of  learning   the^'^School 
existed  at  Tours,  Fulda,  Corbie,  Orleans,  and  other  places  during   of  the 

palace  " 

his  reign.  Charlemagne  further  promoted  the  cause  of  education 
by  the  establishment  of  the  famous  "  School  of  the  palace  "  for 
the  instruction  of  his  own  children  and  the  sons  of  his  nobles. 
He  placed  the  Englishman  Alcuin  at  the  head  of  the  school, 

1  See  above,  p.  324.  2  See  RcaUiiii^s,  chap.  vii. 


380  Outlines  of  Ent'opcan  History 

and    called    distinguished    men    from    Italy   and   elsewhere   as 

teachers.    The  best  known  of  these  was  the  historian  Paulus 

Diaconus,  who  wrote  a  history  of  the  Lombards,  to  which  we 

owe  most  of  what  we  know  about  them. 

Charlemagne        Charlemagne  appears  to  have  been  particularly  impressed 

intere^sted  in     ^vith  the  constant  danger  of  mistakes  in  copying  books,  a  task 

religious  frequently  turned  over  to  ignorant  and  careless  persons.    He 

thought  it  very  important  that  the  religious  books  should  be 

carefully  copied.    It  should  be  noted  that  he  made  no  attempt 

to  revive  the  learning  of  Greece  and  Rome.     He  deemed  it 

quite  sufficient  if  the  churchmen  would  learn  their  Latin  well 

enough  to  read  the  church  services  and  the  Bible  intelligently. 

Discourage-  The  hopeful  beginning  that  was  made  under  Charlemagne 

mion  after  ^'  i^i  the  revival  of  education  was  destined  to  prove  disappointing 

Charle-  j^^   j^g   immediate   results.     It    is   true   that   the   ninth   century 

magne  s  time  ^ 

produced  a  few  noteworthy  men  who  have  left  works  which 
indicate  acuteness  and  mental  training.  But  the  break-up  of 
Charlemagne's  empire,  the  struggles  between  his  descendants, 
the  coming  of  new  barbarians,  and  the  disorder  caused  by  the 
unruly  feudal  lords,  who  were  not  inclined  to  recognize  any 
master,  all  combined  to  keep  Europe  back  for  at  least  two  cen- 
turies more.  Indeed,  the  tenth  and  the  first  half  of  the  eleventh 
century  seem,  at  first  sight,  little  better  than  the  seventh  and 
the  eighth.  Yet  ignorance  and  disorder  never  were  quite  so 
prevalent  after,  as  they  were  before,  Charlemagne. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  60.  Explain  the  importance  of  the  coronation  of  Pippin. 
Describe  Charlemagne's  appearance  and  character.  How  did  the 
Church  cooperate  with  Charlemagne  in  his  efforts  to  incorporate  the 
Saxons  in  his  empire? 

Section  61.  What  led  to  Charlemagne's  becoming  Emperor.? 
What  modern  countries  did  his  empire  include .? 

Section  62.  What  were  the  chief  sources  of  Charlemagne's 
revenue?  How  did  titles  of  nobility  originate  in  medieval  Europe? 
What  did  Charlemagne  do  for  education  ? 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  AGE  OF  DISORDER ;  FEUDALISM 

Section  63.    The  Disruption  of  Charlemagne's 
Empire 


It  was  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  Europe  whether 
Charlemagne's  extensive  empire  held  together  or  fell  apart 
after  his  death  in  814.  He  does  not  seem  to  have  had  any 
expectation  that  it  would  hold  together,  because  some  years 
before  his  death  he  arranged  that  it  should  be  divided  among 
his  three  sons.  But  as  two  of  these  died  before  he  did,  it  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  only  surviving  son,  Louis,  who  succeeded 
his  august  father  as  king  of  all  the  various  parts  of  the  Frankish 
domains  and  was  later  crowned  Emperor. 

Louis,  called  "  the  pious,"  proved  a  feeble  ruler.  He  tried 
all  sorts  of  ways  of  dividing  the  Empire  peaceably  among  his 
rebellious  and  unruly  sons,  but  he  did  not  succeed,  and  after 
his  death  they,  and  their  sons  as  well,  continued  to  fight  over 
the  question  of  how  much  each  should  have.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  speak  of  the  various  temporary  arrangements  that  were 
made.    Finally,  it  was  agreed  in  870,  by  the  Treaty  of  Mersen, 

381 


Division  of 
Charle- 
magne's 
empire 


Division  of 
Frankish 
empire  into 
three  king- 
doms at 
Mersen,  S70 


382  Outlines  of  European  History 

that  there  should  be  three  states,  a  West  Frankish  kingdom,  an 
East  Frankish  kingdom,  and  a  kingdom  of  Italy.  The  West 
Frankish  realm  corresponded  roughly  with  the  present  bound- 
aries of  France  and  Belgium.  Its  people  talked  dialects  derived 
from  the  spoken  Latin,  which  the  Romans  had  introduced  after 
their  army,  under  the  command  of  Julius  Caesar,  conquered 
Gaul.  The  East  Frankish  kingdom  included  the  rest  of  Charle- 
magne's empire  outside  of  Italy  and  was  German  in  language. 


Map  of  Treaty  of  Mersen 

This  map  shows  the  division  of  Chademagne's  empire  made  in  870  by 
his  descendants  in  the  Treaty  of  Mersen 


Obstacles  to 
maintaining 
order 


Each  of  the  three  realms  established  by  the  Treaty  of  Mersen 
was  destined  finally  to  grow  into  one  of  the  powerful  modem 
states  which  we  see  on  the  map  of  Europe  to-day,  but  hundreds 
of  years  elapsed  before  the  kings  grew  strong  enough  to  con- 
trol their  subjects,  and  the  Treaty  of  Mersen  was  followed  by 
several  centuries  of  constant  disorder  and  local  warfare.  Let  us 
consider  the  difficulties  which  stood  in  the  way  of  peace. 


The  Age  of  Disorder ;  Feudalism  383 

In  the  first  place,  a  king  found  it  very  hard  to  get  rapidly   Bad  roads 
from  one  part  of  his  realms  to  another  in  order  to  put  down 
rebellions,  for  the  remarkable  roads  which  the  Romans  had  so 
carefully  constructed  to  enable  their  armies  to  move  about  had 
fallen  into  disrepair. 

To  have  good  roads  one  must  be  constantly  working  on 
them,  for  the  rains  wash  them  out  and  the  floods  carry  away  the 
bridges.  As  there  was  no  longer  a  body  of  engineers  employed 
by  the  government  to  keep  up  the  roads  and  repair  the  bridges, 
they  often  became  impassable.  In  the  East  Frankish  kingdom 
matters  must  have  been  worse  than  in  the  West  Frankish  realm, 
for  the  Romans  had  never  conquered  Germany  and  consequently 
no  good  roads  had  ever  been  constructed  there. 

Besides  the  difficulty  of  getting  about  quickly  and  easily,  the   Lack  of 
king  had  very  little  money.     This  was  one  of  the  chief  troubles   go°"mmem^ 
of  the  Middle  Ages.    There  are  not  many  gold  or  silver  mines   officials 
in  western  Europe,  and  there  w'as  no  supply  of  precious  metals 
from  outside,  for  commerce  had  largely  died  out.     So  the  king 
had  no  treasury  from  which  to  pay  the  many  officials  which 
an  efficient  government  finds  it  necessary  to  employ  to  do  its 
business  and  to  keep  order.     As  we  have  seen,  he  had  to  give 
his  officers,  the  counts  and  margraves,  land  instead  of  money, 
and  their  land   was  so  extensive  that  they  tended  to  become 
rulers  themselves  within  their  own  possessions. 

Of  course  the  king  had  not  money  enough  to  support  a  stand-   No  perma- 
ing  army,  which  would  have  enabled  him  to  put  down  the  con- 
stant rebellions  of  his  distant  officers  and  of  the  powerful  and 
restless  nobility,  whose  chief  interest  in  life  consisted  in  fighting. 

In  addition  to  the  weakness  and  poverty  of  the  kings  there  New 
was  another  trouble,  —  and  that  the  worst  of  all,  —  namely,  the 
constant  new  invasions  from  all  directions  which  kept  all  three 
parts  of  Charlemagne's  empire,  and  England  besides,  in  a  con- 
stant state  of  terror  and  disaster.  These  invasions  were  almost 
as  bad  as  those  which  had  occurred  before  Charlemagne's  time  ; 
they  prevented  western  Europe  from  becoming  peaceful  and 


invasions 


384 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Moham- 
medans 
attack  Italy 
and  southern 
France 


prosperous  and  serve  to  explain  the  dark  period  of  two  hundred 
years  which  followed  the  break-up  of  Charlemagne's  empire. 

We  know  how  the  Mohammedans  had  got  possession  of 
northern  Africa  and  then  conquered  Spain,  and  how  Charles 
Martel  had  frustrated  their  attempt  to  add  Gaul  to  their  pos- 
sessions. But  this  rebuff  did  not  end  their  attacks  on  southern 
Europe.    They  got  control  of  the  Island  of  Sicily  shortly  after 


Fig.    150.     AxMPHITHEATER    AT    ArLES    IX    THE    MiDDLE    AgES 

The  great  Roman  amphitheater  at  Aries  (built  probably  in  the  first  or 
second  century)  is  about  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  circumference.  During 
the  eighth  century,  when  the  Mohammedans  were  invading  southern 
France,  it  was  converted  into  a  fortress.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  settled 
inside  its  walls,  and  towers  were  constructed,  which  still  stand.  The  pic- 
ture shows  it  before  the  dwellings  were  removed,  about  1830 


Slavs  and 
Hungarians 


Charlemagne's  death,  and  then  began  to  terrorize  Italy  and 
southern  France.  Even  Rome  itself  suffered-  from  them. 
The  accompanying  picture  shows  how  the  people  of  Aries, 
in  southern  France,  built  their  houses  inside  the  old  Roman 
amphitheater  in  order  to  protect  themselves  from  these  Moham- 
medan invaders. 

On  the  east  the  German  rulers  had  constantly  to  contend 
with  the  Slavs.    Charlemagne  had  defeated  them  in  his  time,  as 


Fig.  151.    Monastery  of  St.-Germain-des-Pres,  Paris 

This  famous  monastery,  now  in  the  midst  of  Paris,  was  formerly  outside 
of  the  walls  when  the  town  was  much  smaller,  and  was  fortified,  as  shown 
in  the  picture,  with  a  moat  (C)  and  drawbridge  (Z>).  One  can  see  the 
abbey  church  (A),  which  still  stands;  the  cloister  (B)  ;  the  refectory,  or 
dining  room  {£)  ;  and  the  long  dormitory  {G).  It  was  common  in  the 
age  of  disorder  to  fortify  monasteries  and  sometimes  even  churches,  as 
nothing  was  so  sacred  as  to  protect  it  from  the  danger  of  attack 
I  385 


386 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  North- 
men 


Growing 
power  and 
independ- 
ence of  the 
great  land- 
owners 


mentioned  above,  but  they  continued  to  make  much  trouble  for 
two  centuries  at  least.  Then  there  were  also  the  Hungarians, 
a  savage  race  from  Asia,  who  ravaged  Germany  and  northern 
Italy  and  whose  wild  horsemen  penetrated  even  into  the  West 
Frankish  kingdom.  Finally,  they  were  driven  back  eastward  and 
settled  in  the  country  now  named  after  them  —  Hungary. 

And  lastly  there  came  the  Northmen,  bold  and  adventurous 
pirates  from  the  shores  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Norway. 
These  skillful  and  daring  seamen  not  only  attacked  the  towns 
on  the  coast  of  the  West  Frankish  kingdom  but  made  their  way 
up  the  rivers,  plundering  and  burning  the  villages  and  towns 
as  far  inland  as  Paris.  In  England  we  shall  find  them,  under 
the  name  of  Danes,  invading  the  country  and  forcing  Alfred  the 
Great  to  recognize  them  as  the  masters  of  northern  England. 

So  there  was  danger  always  and  everywhere.  If  rival  nobles 
were  not  fighting  one  another,  there  were  foreign  invaders  of 
some  kind  devastating  the  country,  bent  on  robbing,  maltreat- 
ing, and  enslaving  the  people  whom  they  found  in  towns  and 
villages  and  monasteries.  No  wonder  that  strong  castles  had 
to  be  built  and  the  towns  surrounded  by  walls ;  even  the  mon- 
asteries, which  were  not  of  course  respected  by  pagan  invaders, 
were  in  some  cases  protected  by  fortifications. 

In  the  absence  of  a  powerful  king  with  a  well-organized  army 
at  his  back,  each  district  was  left  to  look  out  for  itself.  Doubt- 
less many  counts,  margraves,  bishops,  and  other  great  landed 
proprietors,  who  were  gradually  becoming  independent  princes, 
earned  the  loyalty  of  the  people  about  them  by  taking  the  lead 
in  defending  the  country  against  its  invaders  and  by  estab- 
lishing fortresses  as  places  of  refuge  when  the  community  was 
hard  pressed.  These  conditions  serve  to  explain  why  such 
government  as  continued  to  exist  during  the  centuries  following 
the  death  of  Charlemagne  was  necessarily  carried  on  mainly, 
not  by  the  king  and  his  officers,  but  by  the  great  landholders. 

1  These  Scandinavian  pirates  are  often  called  vikings^  from  their  habit  of  leav- 
ing their  long  boats  in  the  vik^  which  meant,  in  their  language,  "  bay  "  or  "  inlet." 


\) 


TJie  Age  of  Disorder ;  Feudalism 


3^7 


Section  64.    The  Medieval  Castle 

As  one  travels  through  England,  France,  or  Germany  to-  The  medie- 
day  he  often  comes  upon  the  picturesque  ruins  of  a  medieval  ^^'  ^^^^^^ 
castle  perched  upon  some  rocky  cliff  and  overlooking  the  sur- 
roundJBig   country  for  miles.     As  he  looks  at  the  thick  walls 
ofiten  surrounded  by  a  deep,  wide  trench  once  filled  with  water, 


^^'%^l 


^-^r"    .^-i!.^^    T^|(^^  «®*^|^^ 


\^)l\  ^f  ^^ 


::;s^i^ 


JL 


Fig.  152.   A  Medieval  Castle  near  Klagenfurt,  Austrl\ 

It  was    not   uncommon    in    mountainous    regions    to    have    fortresses 

perched  so  high  on  rocky  eminences  that  it  was  practically 

impossible  to  capture  them 


and  observes  the  great  towers  with  their  tiny  windows,  he  can- 
not but  wonder  why  so  many  of  these  forts  were  built,  and  why 
people  lived  in  them.  It  is  clear  that  they  were  never  intended 
to  be  dwelling  places  for  the  peaceful  households  of  private 
citizens ;  they  look  rather  like  the  fortified  palace  of  a  ruler. 
Obviously,  whoever  lived  there  was  in  constant  expectation  of 
being  attacked  by  an  army,  for  otherwise  he  would  never  have 


388 


Outlines  of  Enropcaii  History 


gone  to  the  trouble  and  expense  of  shutting  himself  up  in  those 
dreary,  cold,  stone  rooms,  behind  walls  from  ten  to  twenty  feet 
thick.  We  can  picture  the  great  hall  of  the  castle  crowded 
with  the  armed  followers  of  the  master  of  the  house,  ready  to 
fight  for  him  when  he  wished  to  make  war  on  a  neighbor; 
or  if  he  himself  were  attacked,  they  would  rush  to  the  little 
windows  and  shoot  arrows  at  those  who  tried  to  approach,  or 


Fig.  153.    Machine  for  Hurling  Stones 

This  was  a  medieval  device  for  throwing  stones  and  bolts  of  iron,  which 
were  often  heated  red  hot  before  they  were  fired.  It  consisted  of  a  great 
bow  {A)  and  the  beam  {B),  which  was  drawn  back  by  the  windlass  (C) 
turned  by  a  crank  applied  at  the  point  (D).  Then  a  stone  was  put  in 
the  pocket  {F)  and  the  trigger  pulled  by  means  of  the  string  (E).  This 
let  the  beam  fly  up  with  a  bang  against  the  bumper,  and  the  missile  went 
saihng  against  the  wall  or  over  it  among  the  defenders  of  the  castle 

pour  lighted  pitch  or  melted  lead  down  on  their  enemies  if  they 
were  so  bold  as  to  get  close  enough  to  the  walls. 

The  Romans  had  been  accustomed  to  build  walls  around  their 
camps,  and  a  walled  camp  was  called  castrum ;  and  in  such 
names  as  Rochester,  Winchester,  Gloucester,  Worcester,  we 
have  reminders  of  the  fact  that  these  towns  were  once  for- 
tresses. These  camps,  however,  were  all  government  fortifica- 
tions and  did  not  belong  to  private  individuals. 


TJie  Age  of  Disorder  ;  Feudalism 


389 


But  as  the  Roman  Empire  grew  weaker  and  the  disorder  Early  castles 
caused  by  the  incoming  barbarians  became  greater,  the  various 
counts  and  dukes  and  even  other  large  landowners  began  to 
build  forts  for  themselves,  usually  nothing  more  than  a  great 
round  mound  of  earth  surrounded  by  a  deep  ditch  and  a  wall 
made  of  stakes  interwoven  with  twigs.  On  the  top  of  the  mound 
was   a  wooden  fortress,    surrounded   by  a   fence   or   palisade. 


Fig.  154.    Medieval  Battering-ram 

This  is  a  simple  kind  of  battering-ram,  which  was  trundled  up  to  the 

walls  of  a  besieged  castle  and  then  swung  back  and  forth  by  a  group 

of  soldiers,  with  the  hope  of  making  a  breach.    The  men  were  often 

protected  by  a  covering  over  the  ram 


similar  to  the  one  at  the  foot  of  the  mound.  This  was  the  type 
of  "  castle  "  that  prevailed  for  several  centuries  after  Charle- 
magne's death.  There  are  no  remains  of  these  wooden  castles 
in  existence,  for  they  were  not  the  kind  of  thing  to  last  very  long, 
and  those  that  escaped  being  burned  or  otherwise  destroyed, 
rotted  away  in  time. 

About  the  year  1 100  these  wooden  buildings  began  to  be  re-  improved 
placed  by  great  square  stone  towers.  This  was  due  to  the  fact  ^fack  lead 
that  the  methods  of  attacking  castles  had  so  changed  that  wood   *°  "se  of 

*=>  °  stone  towers 

was  no  longer  a  sufficient  protection.    The  Romans  when  they   about  noo 
besieged  a  walled  town  were  accustomed  to  hurl  great  stones 
and  heavy-pointed  stakes  at  the  walls  and  over  them.    They  had 
ingenious  machines  for  this  purpose,  and  they  also  had  ways  of 


P^iG.  155.    Movable  Tower 

This  attacking  tower  was  rolled  up  to  the  wall  of  the  besieged  town 
after  the  moat  had  been  filled  up  at  the  proper  point.  The  soldiers  then 
swarmed  up  the  outside  and  over  a  bridge  onto  the  wall.  Skins  of  ani- 
mals were  hung  on  the  side  to  prevent  the  tower  from  being  set  on  fire 


390 


The  Age  of  Diso7'der ;   Feudalism 


391 


protecting  their  soldiers  when  they  crept  up  to  the  walls  with 
their  battering-rams  and  pickaxes  in  the  hope  of  making  a  breach 
and  so  getting  into  the 
town.  But  the  Ger- 
man barbarians  who 
overran  the  Roman 
Empire  were  unaccus- 
tomed to  these  ma- 
chines, which  therefore 
had  fallen  into  disuse. 
But  the  practice  of 
taking  towns  by  means 
of  them  was  kept  up 
in  the  Eastern  Empire, 
and  during  the  Cru- 
sades, which,  as  we 
shall  see,  began  about 
1 100  (see  Chapter 
XIX,  below),  they  were 
introduced  once  more 
into  western  Europe, 
and  this  is  the  reason 
why  stone  castles  be- 
gan to  be  built  about 
that  time. 

A  square  tower 
(Fig.  156)  can,  how- 
ever, be  more  easily 
attacked  than  a  round 
tower,  which  has  no 
corners,  so  a  century 
later  round  towers  be- 
came the  rule  and  continued  to  be  used  until  about  the  year 
1500,  when  gunpowder  and  cannon  had  become  so  common 
that  even  the  strongest  castle  could  no  longer  be  defended. 


Fig.  156.    Tower  of  Beaugexcy 

This  square  donjon  not  far  from  Orleans, 
France,  is  one  of  the  very  earliest  square 
towers  that  survive.  It  is  a  translation  into 
stone  of  the  wooden  donjons  that  prevailed 
up  to  that  time.  It  was  built  about  1 100,  just 
after  the  beginning  of  the  First  Crusade.  It 
is  about  76  by  66  feet  in  size  and  1 1 5  feet  high 


392 


Outlines  of  Eiiropcaii  History 


for  it  could  not  withstand  the  force  of  cannon  balls.  The 
accompanying  pictures  give  an  idea  of  the  stone  castles  built 
from  about  iioo  to  1450  or  1500.  They  also  show  how  a 
stone-throwing  machine,  such  as  was  used  before  the  invention 
of  cannon,  was  constructed  (Fig.  153). 

As  we  have  no  remains  or  good  pictures  of  the  early  wooden 
castles  on  a  mound,  we  must  get  our  notions  of  the  arrangement 

of  a  castle  from  the 
later  stone  fortresses, 
many  of  which  can  still 
be  found  in  Europe. 
When  the  castle  was 
not  on  a  steep  rocky 
hill,  which  made  it  very 
hard  to  approach,  a 
deep  ditch  was  con- 
structed outside  the 
walls,  called  the  moat. 
This  was  filled  with 
water  and  crossed  by 


f'^^^fflV' 


^TTrtTiT 


bridge,  which  could 


Fig. 


157.    Fortified  Gate  of 
Medieval  Castle 


Here  one  can  see  the  way  in  which  the 
entrance   to   a  castle  was   protected :    the 
moat  {A) ;  the  drawbridge  {B) ;   the  port- 
cullis (O 


^Vllliiifii..,,,,  „„ 

be  drawn  up  when  the 
castle  was  attacked, 
leaving  no  way  of 
getting  across.  The 
doorway  was  further 
protected  by  a  grating 
of  heavy  planks,  called 
the  p07'tcuUis,  which  could  be  quickly  dropped  down  to  close  the 
entrance  (Fig.  157).  Inside  the  castle  walls  was  the  great  donjon, 
or  chief  tower,  which  had  several  stories,  although  one  would  not 
suspect  it  from  its  plain  exterior.  There  was  sometimes  also  a  fine 
hall,  as  at  Coucy  (Fig.  158),  and  handsome  rooms  for  the  use  of  the 
lord  and  his  family,  but  sometimes  they  lived  in  the  donjon.  There 
were  buildings  for  storing  supplies  and  arms,  and  usually  a  chapel. 


Fig.  158.    Coucy-le-Chateau 

This  castle  of  Coucy-le-Chateau  was  built  by  a  vassal  of  the  king  of 
France  in  the  thirteenth  century.  It  is  at  the  end  of  a  hill  and  protected 
on  all  sides  but  one  by  steep  cliffs.  One  can  see  the  moat  (A)  and  the 
double  drawbridge  and  towers  which  protected  the  portal.  The  round 
donjon  (B)  is  probably  the  largest  in  the  world,  100  feet  in  diameter  and 
210  feet  high.  At  the  base  its  walls  are  34  feet  thick.  At  the  end  of  the 
inner  court  (C)  was  the  residence  of  the  lord  {D).  To  the  left  of  the 
court  was  a  great  hall,  and  to  the  right  were  the  quarters  of  the  garrison 


393 


394 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Section  65.    The  Serfs  and  the  Manor 

Obviously  the  owner  of  the  castle  had  to  obtain  supplies 
to  support  his  family  and  servants  and  armed  men.  He  could 
not  have  done  this  had  he  not  possessed  extensive  tracts  of  land. 
A  great  part  of  western  Europe  in  the  time  of  Charlemagne 
appears  to  have  been  divided  into  great  estates  or  plantations. 

These  medieval  estates  were  called  vits,  or  itianors,  and  closely 
resembled  the  Roman  villas  described  in  an  earlier  chapter.^ 
The  peasants  who  tilled  the  soil  were  called  villaiiis^  a  word 
derived  from  vil.  A  portion  of  the  estate  was  reserved  by  the 
lord  for  his  own  use ;  the  rest  of  it  was  divided  up  among  the 
peasants,  usually  in  long  strips,  of  which  each  peasant  had  several 
scattered  about  the  manor. 

The  peasants  were  generally  serfs,  who  did  not  own  their 
fields,  but  could  not,  on  the  other  hand,  be  deprived  of  them 
so  long  as  they  worked  for  the  lord  and  paid  him  certain  dues. 
They  were  attached  to  the  land  and  went  with  it  when  it  changed 
hands.  The  serfs  were  required  to  till  those  fields  which  the 
lord  reserved  for  himself  and  to  gather  in  his  crops.  They  might 
not  marry  without  their  lord's  permission.  Their  wives  and 
daughters  helped  with  the  indoor  work  of  the  manor  house.  In 
the  women's  buildings  the  women  serfs  engaged  in  spinning, 
weaving,  sewing,  baking,  and  brewing,  thus  producing  clothes, 
food,  and  drink  for  the  whole  community. 

We  get  our  clearest  ideas  of  the  position  of  the  serfs  from 
the  ancient  descriptions  of  manors,  which  give  an  exact  account 
of  what  each  member  of  a  particular  community  owed  to  the 
lord.  For  example,  we  find  that  the  abbot  of  Peterborough 
held  a  manor  upon  which  Hugh  Miller  and  seventeen  other 
serfs,  mentioned  by  name,  were  required  to  work  for  him  three 
days  in  each  week  during  the  whole  year,  except  one  week  at 
Christmas,  one  at  Easter,  and  one  at  Whitsuntide.  Each  serf 
was  to  give  the  lord  abbot  one  bushel  of  wheat  and  eighteen 

1  See  above,  p.  290. 


TJie  Age  of  Disoj'der  ;   Feudalism 


395 


sheaves  of  oats,  three  hens,  and  one  cock  yearly,  and  five  eggs  at 
Easter.  If  he  sold  his  horse  for  more  than  ten  shillings,  he  was 
to  give  the  said  abbot  fourpence.  Five  other  serfs,  mentioned  by 
name,  held  but  half  as  much  land  as  Hugh  and  his  companions, 
by  paying  and  doing  in  all  respects  half  as  much  service. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  characteristics  of  the  manor  was 
its  independence  of  the  rest  of  the  world.    It  produced  nearly 


M^.  ^ 


Fig.    159.     PlERREFONDS 

This  castle  of  Pierrefonds,  not  very  far  from  Paris,  was  built  by  the 
brother  of  the  king  of  France,  about  1400.  It  has  been  very  carefully 
restored  in  modern  times  and  gives  one  a  good  idea  of  the  way  in  which 
the  feudal  lords  of  that  period  lived.  Within  the  walls  are  a  hand- 
some central  courtyard  and  magnificent  apartments 

everything  that  its  members  needed,  and  might  almost  have  con- 
tinued to  exist  indefinitely  without  communication  with  those  who 
lived  beyond  its  bounds.  Little  or  no  money  was  necessary, 
for  the  peasants  paid  what  was  due  to  the  lord  in  the  form  of 
labor  and  farm  products.  They  also  rendered  the  needful  help 
to  one  another  and  found  little  occasion  for  buying  and  selling. 


396 


Outlines  of  Jiuropcdii  llistoiy 


The  monot- 
ony and 
misery  of  the 
peasants' 
lives 


Barter  re- 
placed by 
money 
transactions 


Inhere  was  almost  no  opportunity  to  better  one's  condition, 
and  life  must  have  gone  on  for  generation  after  generation  in  a 
weary  routine.  And  the  life  was  not  merely  monotonous,  it  was 
wretched.  The  food  was  coarse  and  there  was  litde  variety,  as 
the  peasants  did  not  even  take  pains  to  raise  fresh  vegetables. 
The  houses  usually  had  but  one  room',  which  was  ill-lighted  by 
a  single  little  window  and  had  no  chimney. 

^The  increased  use  of  money  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries,  which  came  with  the  awakening  trade  and  industry, 
tended  to  break  up  the  manor.  The  old  habit  of  trading  one 
thing  for  another  without  the  intervention  of  money  began  to 
disappear.  As  time  went  on,  neither  the  lord  nor  the  serf  was 
satisfied  with  the  old  system,  which  had  answered  well  enough 
in  the  time  of  Charlemagne.  The  serfs,  on  the  one  hand,  began 
to  obtain  money  by  the  sale  of  their  products  in  the  markets  of 
neighboring  towns.  They  soon  found  it  more  profitable  to  pay 
the  lord  a  certain  sum  instead  of  working  for  him,  for  they 
could  then  turn  their  whole  attention  to  their  own  farms. 

The  landlords,  on  the  other  hand,  found  it  to  their  advantage 
to  accept  money  in  place  of  the  services  of  their  tenants.  With 
this  money  the  landlord  could  hire  laborers  to  cultivate  his  fields 
and  could  buy  the  luxuries  which  were  brought  to  his  notice  as 
commerce  increased.  So  it  came  about  that  the  lords  gradually 
gave  up  their  control  over  the  peasants,  and  there  was  no  longer 
very  much  difference  between  the  serf  and  the  freeman  who 
paid  a  regular  rent  for  his  land.  A  serf  might  also  gain  his  lib- 
erty by  running  away  from  his  manor  to  a  town.  If  he  remained 
undiscovered,  or  was  unclaimed  by  his  lord,  for  a  year  and  a 
day,  he  became  a  freeman.M 

1  The  slow  extinction  of  serfdom  in  western  Europe  appears  to  have  begun 
as  early  as  the  twelfth  century.  A  very  general  emancipation  had  taken  place  in 
France  by  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  though  there  were  still  some  serfs 
in  France  when  the  Revolution  came  in  1789.  Germany  was  far  more  backward 
in  this  respect.  We  find  the  peasants  revolting  against  their  hard  lot  in  Luther's 
time  (i524-i525),and  it  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  that 
the  serfs  were  freed  in  Prussia. 


The  Age  of  Disorder ;   Feudalism  397 

These  manors  served  to  supptnt  their  lords  and  left  them 
free  to  busy  themselves  fighting  with  other  landowners  in  the 
same  position  as  themselves. 

Section  66.    Feudal  System 

Landholders  who  had  large  estates  and  could  spare  a  por-   Lord  and 
tion  of  them  were  accustomed  to  grant  some  of  their  manors  ^'^^^^ 
to  another  person  on  condition  that  the  one  receiving  the  land 
would  swear  to  be  true  to  the  giver,  should  fight  for  him  on 
certain  occasions,  and  should  lend  him  aid  when  particular  diffi- 
culties arose.     It  was  in  this  way  that  the  relation  of  lord  and 
vassal  originated.     The  vassal  who  received  the  land  pledged 
himself  to  be  true  to  his  lord,  and  the  lord,  on  the  other  hand, 
not  only  let  his  vassal  have  the  land  but  agreed  to  protect  him 
when  it  was  necessary.     These  arrangements  between  vassals   The  feudal 
and  lords  constituted  what  is  called  the  feudal  system.  system 

The   feudal   system,   or  feudalism,  was   not   established   by   Gradual  de- 
any  decree  of  a  king  or  in  virtue  of  any  general  agreement  be-   feudalism^  ° 
tween  all  the  landowners.    It  grew  up  gradually  and  irregularly 
without  any  conscious  plan  on  any  one's  part,  simply  because 
it  seemed   convenient   and    natural   under   the   circumstances. 
The  owner  of  vast  estates  found  it  to  his  advantage  to  par- 
cel them  out  among  vassals,  that  is  to  say,  men  who  agreed  to 
accompany  him  to  war,  guard  his  castle  upon  occasion,   and 
assist  him  when  he  was  put  to  any  unusually  great  expense. 
Land  granted  upon  the  terms  mentioned  was  called  2.  fief.    One   The  fief 
who  held  a  fief  might  himself  become  a  lord  by  granting  a 
portion  of  his  fief  to  a  vassal  upon  terms  similar  to  those  upon 
which  he  held  his  lands  of  his  lord,  or  suzerain. 

The  vassal  of  a  vassal  was  called  a  subvassal.     There  was   Vassal  and 
still  another  way  in  which  the  number  of  vassals  was  increased. 
The  owners  of  small  estates  were  usually  in  a  defenseless  con- 
dition, unable  to  protect  themselves  against  the  attacks  of  the 
great  nobles.     They  consequently  often  deemed  it  wise  to  put 


398 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Homage 


Obligations 
of  the  vassal. 
Military 
service 


Other  feudal 
obligations 


their  land  into  the  hands  of  a  neighboring  lord  and  receive  it 
back  from  him  as  a  fief.  They  thus  became  his  vassals  and 
could  call  upon  him  for  protection. 

The  one  proposing  to  become  a  vassal  knelt  before  the  lord 
and  rendered  him  homage  ^  by  placing  his  hands  between  those 
of  the  lord  and  declaring  himself  the  lord's  "  man  "  for  such  and 
such  a  fief.  Thereupon  the  lord  gave  his  vassal  the  kiss  of 
peace  and  raised  him  from  his  kneeling  posture.  Then  the 
vassal  swore  an  oath  of  fidelity  upon  the  Bible,  or  some  holy 
relic,  solemnly  binding  himself  to  fulfill  all  his  duties  toward  his 
lord.  This  act  of  rendering  homage  by  placing  the  hands  in 
those  of  the  lord  and  taking  the  oath  of  fidelity  was  the  first 
and  most  essential  duty  of  the  vassal  (Fig.  i6o).  For  a  vassal  to 
refuse  to  do  homage  for  his  fief  when  it  changed  hands 
amounted  to  a  declaration  of  revolt  and  independence. 

The  obligations  of  the  vassal  varied  greatly.^  He  was  ex- 
pected to  join  his  lord  when  there  was  a  military  expedition  on 
foot,  although  it  was  generally  the  case  that  the  vassal  need  not 
serve  at  his  own  expense  for  more  than  forty  days.  The  rules 
in  regard  to  the  length  of  time  during  which  a  vassal  might 
be  called  upon  to  guard  the  castle  of  his  lord  varied  almost 
infinitely. 

Besides  the  military  service  due  from  the  vassal  to  his  lord, 
he  was  expected  to  attend  the  lord's  court  when  summoned. 
There  he  sat  with  other  vassals  to  hear  and  pronounce  upon 
those  cases  in  which  his  fellow  vassals  were  involved.   Moreover, 


1  "  Homage  "  is  derived  from  the  Latin  word  hotnq,  meaning  "  man." 

2  The  conditions  upon  which  fiefs  were  granted  might  be  dictated  either  by 
interest  or  by  mere  fancy.  Sometimes  the  most  fantastic  and  seemingly  absurd 
obligations  were  imposed.  We  hear  of  vassals  holding  on  condition  of  attending 
the  lord  at  supper  with  a  tall  candle,  or  furnishing  him  with  a  great  yule  log  at 
Christmas.  Perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  instance  upon  record  is  that  of  a  lord 
in  Guienne  who  solemnly  declared  upon  oath,  when  questioned  by  the  commis- 
sioners of  Edward  I,  that  he  held  his  fief  of  the  king  upon  the  following  terms : 
When  the  lord  king  came  through  his  estate  he  was  to  accom.pany  him  to  a  cer- 
tain oak.  There  he  must  have  waiting  a  cart  loaded  with  wood  and  drawn  by  two 
cows  without  any  tails.  When  the  oak  was  reached,  fire  was  to  be  applied  to  the 
cart  and  the  whole  burned  up,  "  unless  mayhap  the  cows  make  their  escape." 


TJie  Age  of  Diso7'dc7' ;  Feudalism 


399 


he  had  to  give  the  lord  the  benefit  of  his  advice  when  required, 
and  attend  him  upon  solemn  occasions. 

Under  certain  circumstances   vassals   had   to   make  money   Money  pay- 
payments  to  their  lord ;   as,  for  instance,  when  the  lord  was   ™^"^^ 
put  to  extra  expense  by  the  necessity  of  knighting  his  eldest 
son  or  providing  a  dowry  for  his  daughter,  or  when  he  was 
captured   by   an   enemy 
and  was  held  for  ransom. 
Lastly,  the  vassal  might 
have  to  entertain  his  lord 
should  he  be  passing  his 
castle.   There  are  amus- 
ingly  detailed    accounts 
in   some   of   the   feudal 
contracts  of  exactly  how 
often    the    lord    might 
come,    how    many    fol- 
lowers  he   might  bring, 
and  what  he  should  have 
to  eat. 

There  were  fiefs  of 
all  kinds  and  of  all 
grades  of  importance, 
from  that  of  a  duke  or 
count,  who  held  directly 
of  the  king  and  exercised 
the  powers  of  a  practi- 
cally independent  prince, 

down  to  the  holding  of  the  simple  knight,  whose  bit  of  land, 
cultivated  by  peasants  or  serfs,  was  barely  sufficient  to  enable 
him  to  support  himself  and  provide  the  horse  upon  which  he 
rode  to  perform  his  military  service  for  his  lord. 

It  is  essential  to  observe  that  the  fief  was  not  granted  for  a 
certain  number  of  years,  or  simply  for  the  life  of  the  grantee, 
to  go  back  at  his  death  to  the  owner.   On  the  contrary,  it  became 


Fig.  i6o.    Ceremony  of  Homage  . 

This  is  a  modern  picture  of  the  way  in 
which  the  ceremony  of  homage  took  place. 
The  new  vassal  is  putting  his  hands  be- 
tween those  of  his  lord.  To  the  left  are 
retainers  in  their  chain  armor,  and  back 
of  the  lord  and  his  lady  is  the  jester,  or 
court  fool,  whose  business  it  is  to  amuse 
his  master  when  he  needs  entertainment 


Its  conse 
quences 


400  Oittlincs  of  European  History 

The  heredi-  hereditary  in  the  family  of  the  vassal  and  passed  down  to  the 
oTfiefs^and^^  eldest  son  from  one  generation  to  another.  So  long  as  the 
vassal  remained  faithful  to  his  lord  and  performed  the  stipu- 
lated services,  and  his  successors  did  homage  and  continued  to 
meet  the  conditions  upon  which  the  fief  had  originally  been 
granted,  neither  the  lord  nor  his  heirs  could  rightfully  regain 
possession  of  the  land. 

The  result  was  that  little  was  left  to  the  original  owner  of  the 
fief  except  the  services  and  dues  to  which  the  practical  owner, 
the  vassal,  had  agreed  in  receiving  it.  In  short,  the  fief  came 
really  to  belong  to  the  vassal,  and  only  the  shadow  of  owner- 
ship remained  in  the  hands  of  the  lord.  Nowadays  the  owner 
of  land  either  makes  some  use  of  it  himself  or  leases  it  for  a 
definite  period  at  a  fixed  money  rent.  But  in  the  Middle  Ages 
most  of  the  land  was  held  by  those  who  neither  really  owned  it 
nor  paid  a  regular  rent  for  it,  and  yet  who  could  not  be  deprived 
of  it  by  the  nominal  owner  or  his  successors. 
Subvassals  of  Obviously  the  great  vassals  who  held  directly  of  the  king 
under^his"^'^  became  almost  independent  of  him  as  soon  as  their  fiefs  were 
granted  to  ihem  and  their  descendants.  Their  vassals,  since 
they  had  not  done  homage  to  the  king  himself,  often  paid  little 
attention  to  his  commands.  From  the  ninth  to  the  thirteenth 
century,  the  king  of  France  or  the  king  of  Germany  did  not 
rule  over  a  great  realm  occupied  by  subjects  who  owed  him 
obedience  as  their  lawful  sovereign,  paid  him  taxes,  and  were 
bound  to  fight  under  his  banner  as  the  head  of  the  State.  As 
a  feudal  landlord  himself,  the  king  had  a  right  to  demand  fidel- 
ity and  certain  services  from  those  who  were  his  vassals.  But 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  over  whom  he  nominally  ruled, 
whether  they  belonged  to  the  nobility  or  not,  owed  little  to  the 
king  directly,  because  they  lived  upon  the  lands  of  other  feudal 
lords  more  or  less  independent  of  him. 


control 


The  Age  of  Disorder ;  Feicdalism  40 1 

Section  6'j.    Neighborhood  Warfare  in  the 
Middle  Ages 

One  has  only  to  read  a  chronicle  of  the  time  to  discover  that  The  feudal 
brute  force  governed  almost  everything  outside  of  the  Church.   tahie™only"* 
The  feudal  obligations  were  not  fulfilled  except  when  the  lord  was  ^>'  ^^^^^ 
sufficiently  powerful  to  enforce  them.    The  oath  of  fidelity  was 
constantly  broken,  and  faith  was  violated  by  both  vassal  and  lord. 

It  often  happened  that  a  vassal  was  discontented  with  his  The  breaking 
lord  and  transferred  his  allegiance  to  another.  This  he  had  ton/ 
a  right  to  do  under  certain  circumstances,  as,  for  instance, 
when  his  lord  refused  to  see  that  justice  was  done  him  in  his 
court.  But  such  changes  were  generally  made  merely  for  the 
sake  of  the  advantages  which  the  faithless  vassal  hoped  to  gain. 
The  records  of  the  time  are  full  of  accounts  of  refusal  to  do 
homage,  which  was  the  commonest  way  in  which  a  vassal  re- 
volted from  his  lord.  So  soon  as  a  vassal  felt  himself  strong 
enough  to  face  his  lord's  displeasure,  or  when  the  lord  was 
a  helpless  child,  the  vassal  was  apt  to  declare  his  independence 
by  refusing  to  recognize  as  his  lord  the  one  from  whom  he  had 
received  his  land. 

We  may  say  that  war,  in  all  its  forms,  was  the  law  of  the  War  the  law 
feudal  world.  War  formed  the  chief  occupation  of  the  restless  ^orld 
nobles  who  held  the  land  and  were  supposed  to  govern  it.  An 
enterprising  vassal  was  likely  to  make  war  upon  each  of  the 
lords  to  whom  he  had  done  homage  ;  secondly,  upon  the  bishops 
and  abbots  with  whom  he  was  brought  into  contact,  and  whose 
control  he  particularly  disliked  ;  thirdly,  upon  his  fellow  vassals  ; 
and  lastly,  upon  his  own  vassals.  The  feudal  bonds,  instead  of 
offering  a  guarantee  of  peace  and  concord,  appear  to  have  been 
a  constant  cause  of  violent  conflict.  Every  one  was  bent  upon 
profiting  by  the  permanent  or  temporary  weakness  of  his  neigh- 
bor. This  chronic  fighting  extended  even  to  members  of  the 
same  family ;  the  son,  anxious  to  enjoy  a  part  of  his  heritage 
immediately,  warred  against  his  father,  younger  brothers  against 


402 


Outlines  of  lluropcmi  History 


Justs  and 
tourneys 


The  "  Truce 
of  God  " 


older,  and  nephews  against  uncles  who  might  seek  to  deprive 
them  of  their  rights. 

In  theory,  the  lord  could  force  his  vassals  to  settle  their  dis- 
putes in  an  orderly  manner  before  his  court ;  but  often  he  was 
neither  able  nor  inclined  to  bring  about  a  peaceful  adjustment, 
and  he  would  frequently  have  found  it  hard  to  enforce  the 
decisions  of  his  own  court.  So  the  vassals  were  left  to  fight 
out  their  quarrels  among  themselves,  and  they  found  their  chief 
interest  in  life  in  so  doing.  War  was  practically  sanctioned  by 
law.  This  is  shown  by  two  striking  examples.  The  great  French 
code  of  laws  of  the  thirteenth  century  and  the  Golden  Bull,  a 
most  important  body  of  law  drawn  up  for  Germany  in  1356, 
did  not  prohibit  neighborhood  war,  but  merely  provided  that 
it  should  be  conducted  in  what  was  considered  a  decent  and 
gentlemanly  way. 

Justs  and  tourneys  were  military  exercises  —  play  wars  —  to 
fill  out  the  tiresome  periods  which  occasionally  intervened  be- 
tween real  wars.  They  were,  in  fact,  diminutive  battles  in  which 
whole  troops  of  hostile  nobles  sometimes  took  part.  These 
rough  plays  called  down  the  condemnation  of  the  popes  and 
even  of  the  kings.  The  latter,  however,  were  much  too  fond  of  the 
sport  themselves  not  to  forget  promptly  their  own  prohibitions. 

The  horrors  of  this  constant  fighting  led  the  Church  to  try 
to  check  it.  About  the  year  1000  several  Church  councils  in 
southern  France  decreed  that  the  fighters  were  not  to  attack 
churches  or  monasteries,  churchmen,  pilgrims,  merchants,  and 
women,  and  that  they  must  leave  the  peasant  and  his  catde 
and  plow  alone.  Then  Church  councils  began  to  issiie  what 
was  known  as  the  "  Truce  of  God,"  which  provided  that  all 
warfare  was  to  stop  during  Lent  and  various  other  holy  days 
as  well  as  on  Thursday,  Friday,  Saturday,  and  Sunday  of  every 
week.  During  the  truce  no  one  was  to  attack  any  one  else. 
Those  besieging  castles  were  to  refrain  from  any  assaults  during 
the  period  of  peace,  and  people  were  to  be  allowed  to  go  quietly 
to  and  fro  on  their  business  without  being  disturbed  by  soldiers. 


The  Age  of  Disorder ;  Fcudalisni  403 

If  any  one  failed  to  observe  the  truce,  he  was  to  be  excom- 
municated by  the  Church  —  if  he  fell  sick  no  Christian  should 
dare  to  visit  him,  and  on  his  deathbed  he  was  not  to  receive  the 
comfort  of  a  priest,  and  his  soul  was  consigned  to  hell  if  he 
had  refused  to  repent  and  mend  his  ways.  It  is  hard  to  say 
how  much  good  the  Truce  of  God  accomplished.  Some  of  the 
bishops  and  even  the  heads  of  great  monasteries  liked  fighting 
pretty  well  themselves.  It  is  certain  that  many  disorderly  lords 
paid  little  attention  to  the  truce,  and  found  three  days  a  week 
altogether  too  short  a  time  for  plaguing  their  neighbors. 

Yet  we  must  not  infer  that  the  State  ceased  to  exist  altogether  The  kings 
during  the  centuries  of  confusion  that  followed  the  break-up  of  thebetfer  of 
Charlemagne's  empire,  or  that  it  fell  entirely  apart  into  little   Jhe  feudal 
local  governments  independent  of  each  other.    In  the  first  place, 
a  king  always  retained  some  of  his  ancient  majesty.    He  might 
be  weak  and  without  the  means  to  enforce  his  rights  and  to 
compel  his  more  powerful  subjects  to  meet  their  obligations 
toward  him.    Yet  he  was,  after  all,  the  king,  solemnly  anointed 
by  the  Church  as  God's  representative  on  earth.    He  was  always 
something  more  than  a  feudal  lord.   The  kings  were  destined  to 
get  the  upper  hand  before  many  centuries  in  England,  France, 
and  Spain,  and  finally  in  Italy  and  Germany,  and  to  destroy  the 
castles  behind  whose  walls  their  haughty  nobles  had  long  defied 
the  royal  power. 


QUESTIONS 

Section  63.  What  led  to  the  breaking  up  of  Charlemagne's  em- 
pire? What  is  the  importance  of  the  Treaty  of  Mersen.?  What 
were  the  chief  obstacles  that  prevented  a  king  in  the  early  Middle 
Ages  from  really  controlling  an  extensive  realm  ?  What  invasions 
occurred  in  western  Europe  after  Charlemagne's  time?  Tell  what 
you  can  of  the  Northmen. 

Section  64.  Describe  the  changes  that  took  place  during  the 
Middle  Ages  in  the  method  of  constructing  castles.  Describe  the 
arrangement  of  a  castle. 


404  Ojitliiics  of  Europcaji  History 

Section  65.  What  was  a  manor,  and  what  Roman  institution  did 
it  resemble?  What  was  a  serf?  What  were  the  chief  services  that 
a  serf  owed  to  his  master?  What  effect  did  the  increased  use  of 
money  have  upon  serfdom  ? 

Section  66.  Define  "lord,"  "vassal,"  "fief,"  "homage,"  "feudal- 
ism." What  services  did  a  vassal  owe  to  his  lord?  What  effects  did 
feudalism  have  upon  the  power  of  the  kings? 

Section  67.  What  is  meant  by  neighborhood  warfare  ?  Why  was 
it  very  common  in  the  Middle  Ages?    What  was  the  Truce  of  God? 


CHAPTER  XVII 

ENGLAND  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

Section  68.    The  Norman  Conquest 

The  country  of  western  Europe  whose  history  is  of  great-   importance 
est   interest   to    English-speaking   peoples   is,  of  course,   Eng-   h^the^Sory 
land.    From  England  the  United  States  and  the  vast  English   gj^^g^*"" 
colonies  have  inherited  their  language  and  habits  of  thought, 
much  of  their  literature,  and  many  of  their  laws  and  institutions. 
In  this  volume  it  will  not,  however,  be  possible  to  study  Eng- 
land except  in  so  far  as  it  has  played  a  part  in  the  general 
development  of  Europe.    This  it  has  greatly  influenced  by  its 
commerce  and  industry  and  colonies,  as  well  as  by  the  example 
it  was  the  first  to  set  in  modern  times  of  permitting  the  people 
to  share  with  the  king  in  the  government. 

The  conquest  of  the  island  of  Britain  by  the  German  Angles  Overlordship 
and  Saxons  has  already  been  spoken  of,  as  well  as  the  con- 
version of  these  pagans  to  Christianity  by  Augustine  and  his 
monks. ^  The  several  kingdoms  founded  by  the  German  invaders 
were  brought  under  the  overlordship  of  the  southern  kingdom 
of  Wessex  by  Egbert,  a  contemporary  of  Charlemagne. 

But  no  sooner  had  the  long-continued  invasions  of  the  Ger-   invasion  of 
mans  come  to  an  end  and  the  country  been  partially  unified   Their  defeat 
than  the  Northmen  (or  Danes,  as  the  English  called  them),  who  ^j^'^'^^fj-e^^^ 
were  ravaging  France  (see  above,  p.  386),  began  to  make  incur-   871-901 
sions  into  England.     Before  long  they  had  conquered  a  large 
district  north  of  the  Thames  and  were  making  permanent  set- 
tlements.   They  were  defeated,  however,  in  a  great  battle  by 
Alfred  the  Great,  the  first  English  king  of  whom  we  have  any 

1  See  above,  pp.  355  f. 
405 


4o6 


Ontlincs  of  European  Ilistoiy 


England 
from  the 
death  of 
Alfred  the 
(Ireat  to 
the  Norman 
Conquest, 
901-1066 


France  in  the 
Middle  Ages 


Formation 
of  small 
independent 
states  in 
France 


Normandy 


satisfactory  knowledge.  He  forced  the  Danes  to  accept  Christi- 
anity, and  established,  as  the  boundary  between  their  settlements 
and  his  own  kingdom  of  Wessex,  a  line  running  from  London 
across  the  island  to  Chester. 

But  more  Danes  kept  coming,  and  the  Danish  invasions  con- 
tinued for  more  than  a  century  after  Alfred's  death  (901  J. 
Sometimes  they  were  bought  off  by  a  money  payment  called  the 
Daiiegeld^  which  was  levied  on  the  people  of  England  like  any 
other  tax.  But  finally  a  Danish  king  (Cnut)  succeeded  in  making 
himself  king  of  England  in  1017.  This  Danish  dynasty  main- 
tained itself,  however,  for  only  a  few  years.  *rhen  a  last  weak 
Saxon  king,  Edward  the  Confessor,  reigned  for  twenty  years. 

Upon  his  death  one  of  the  greatest  events  in  all  English 
history  occurred.  The  most  powerful  of  the  vassals  of  the  king 
of  France  crossed  the  English  Channel,  conquered  England,  and 
made  himself  king.    This  was  William,  Duke  of  Normandy. 

We  have  seen  how  Charlemagne's  empire  broke  up,  and  how 
the  feudal  lords  became  so  powerful  that  it  was  difficult  for  the 
king  to  control  them.  The  West  Frankish  kingdom,  which  we 
shall  hereafter  call  France,  w^as  divided  up  among  a  great  many 
dukes  and  counts,  who  built  strong  castles,  gathered  armies  and 
fought  against  one  another,  and  were  the  terror  alike  of  priest, 
merchant,  and  laborer.   (See  above,  sections  63  and  67.) 

In  the  tenth  century  certain  great  fiefs,  like  Normandy,  Brit- 
tany, Flanders,  and  Burgundy,  developed  into  little  nations,  each 
under  its  line  of  able  rulers.  Each  had  its  own  particular  cus- 
toms and  culture,  some  traces  of  which  may  still  be  noted  by 
the  traveler  in  France.  These  little  feudal  states  were  created 
by  certain  families  of  nobles  who  possessed  exceptional  energy 
or  statesmanship.  By  conquest,  purchase,  or  marriage  they  in- 
creased the  number  of  their  fiefs,  and  they  insured  their  control 
over  their  vassals  by  promptly  destroying  the  castles  of  those 
who  refused  to  meet  their  obligations. 

Of  these  subnations  none  was  more  important  or  interesting 
than  Normandy.    The  Northmen  had  been  the  scourge  of  those 


England  in  the  Middle  Ages  407 

who  lived  near  the  North  Sea  for  many  years  before  one  of 
their  leaders,  Rollo  (or  Hrolf ),  agreed  in  911  to  accept  from 
the  West  Prankish  king  a  district  on  the  coast,  north  of  Brit- 
tany, where  he  and  his  followers  might  peacefully  settle.  Rollo 
assumed  the  title  of  Duke  of  the  Normans,  and  introduced  the 
Christian  religion  among  his  people.  For  a  considerable  time 
the  newcomers  kept  up  their  Scandinavian  habits  and  language. 
Gradually,  however,  they  appropriated  such  culture  as  their 
neighbors  possessed,  and  by  the  twelfth  century  their  capital, 
Rouen,  was  one  of  the  most  enlightened  cities  of  Europe.  Nor- 
mandy became  a  source  of  infinite  perplexity  to  the  French 
kings  when,  in  1066,  Duke  William  added  England  to  his  pos- 
sessions and  the  title  of  "  the  Conqueror "  to  his  name ;  for 
he  thereby  became  so  powerful  that  his  overlord,  the  king 
of  France,  could  hardly  hope  to  control  the  Norman  dukes 
any  longer. 

William  of  Normandy  claimed  that  he  was  entitled  to  the  The  struggle 
English  crown,  but  we  are  somewhat  in  the  dark  as  to  the  basis  fl^h^crown^' 
of  his  claim.    There  is  a  story  that  he  had  visited  the  court  of  between  Earl 

•^  Harold 

Edward  the  Confessor  and  had  become  his  vassal  on  condition  and  Duke 
that,  should  Edward  die  childless,  he  was  to  declare  William  his   Normandy 
successor.    However  this  may  be,  Harold  of  Wessex  assumed 
the  crown  upon  Edward's  death  and  paid  no  attention  to  William's 
demand  that  he  should  surrender  it. 

William  thereupon  appealed  to  the  Pope,  promising  that  if  he   The  Pope 
came  into  possession  of  England,  he  would  see  that  the  English   ^villiam's 
clergy  submitted  to  the  authority  of  the  Roman  bishop.    Conse-  ^^^^™ 
quently  the  Pope,  Alexander  H,  condemned  Harold  and  blessed 
in  advance   any  expedition   that  William   might  undertake   to 
secure  his  rights.    The  conquest  of  England  therefore  took  on 
the  character  of  a  sort  of  holy  war,  and  as  the  expedition  had 
been  well  advertised,  many  adventurers   flocked   to  William's 
standard.    During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1066  ships  were 
building  in  the  various   Norman  harbors  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  William's  army  across  the  Channel. 


408 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Harold,  the  English  king,  was  in  a  very  unfavorable  position 
to  defend  his  crown.  In  the  first  place,  while  he  was  expecting 
William's  coming,  he  was  called  to  the  north  of  England  to  repel 

a  last  invasion  of 
\\  Uk  the  fierce  North- 
men, who  had 
again  landed  in 
England  and  were 
devastating  the 
coast  towns.  He 
was  able  to  put 
them  to  flight,  but 
as  he  was  cele- 
brating his  victory 
by  a  banquet,  news 
reached  him  that 
William  had  actu- 
ally landed  with 
his  Normans  in 
southern  England. 
It  was  autumn 
now  and  the  peas- 
ants, who  formed 
a  large  part  of 
Harold's  forces, 
had  gone  home 
to  harvest  their 
crops,  so  he  had 
to  hurr)'  south 
with  an  insuffi- 
cient army. 

The  English 
occupied  the  hill 
of  vSenlac,  west 
of  Hastings,  and 


Abbaye-aux-Dames,  Caen 


William  the  Conqueror  married  a  lady,  Matilda, 
who  was  remotely  related  to  him.  This  was 
against  the  rules  of  the  Church,  and  he  took 
pains  to  get  the  Pope's  sanction  to  his  marriage. 
But  he  and  his  queen  were  afraid  that  they  might 
have  committed  a  sin  in  marrying,  so  William 
built  a  monastery  for  men  and  Matilda  a  nunnery 
for  women  as  a  penance.  The  churches  of  these 
monasteries  still  stand  in  the  Norman  city  of 
Caen.  William  was  buried  in  his  church.  The 
picture  represents  the  interior  of  Matilda's 
church  and  is  a  good  example  of  what  the 
English  called  the  Norman  style  of  architecture 


England  in  the  JMiddle  Ages  409 

awaited  the  coming  of  the  enemy.    They  had  few  horses  and    Battle  of 
fought  on  foot  with  their  battle-axes.    The  Normans  had  horses,   October^, 
which  they  had  brought  across  in  their  ships,  and  were  supplied    ^°^^ 
with  bows  and  arrows.    The  English  fought  bravely  and  re- 
pulsed the  Normans  as  they  tried  to  press  up  the  hillside.    But 
at  last  they  were  thrown  into  confusion,  and  King  Harold  was 
killed  by  a  Norman  arrow  which  pierced  his  eye. 

William  thus  destroyed  the  English  army  in  this  famous  battle  William 
of  Hastings,  and  the  rightful  English  king  was  dead.  But  the  atTondon 
Norman  duke  was  not  satisfied  to  take  possession  of  England 
as  a  conqueror  merely.  In  a  few  weeks  he  managed  to  induce 
a  number  of  influential  nobles  and  several  bishops  to  agree  to 
accept  him  as  king,  and  London  opened  its  gates  to  him.  On 
Christmas  Day,  1066,  he  was  chosen  king  by  an  assembly  in 
Westminster  Abbey  (where  Harold  had  been  elected  a  year 
before)  and  was  duly  crowned. 

In  the  Norman  town  of  Bayeux  a  strip  of  embroidery  is  pre-  The  Bayeux 
served  some  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long  and  eighteen  ^^^^  ^ 
inches  wide.  If  it  was  not  made  by  Queen  Matilda,  William's 
wife,  and  her  ladies,  as  some  have  supposed,  it  belongs  at  any 
rate  to  the  time  of  the  Norman  conquest  of  England,  which  it 
pictures  with  much  detail.  The  accompanying  colored  repro- 
duction of  two  scenes  shows  the  Normans  landing  with  their 
horses  from  their  ships  on  the  English  coast  and  starting  for 
the  battle  field  of  Hastings,  and,  in  the  second  scene,  the  battle 
in  actual  progress ;  the  English  are  on  their  hill,  trying  to  drive 
back  the  invaders.  While  the  ladies  could  not  draw  very  well, 
historians  are  able  to  get  some  ideas  of  the  time  from  their 
embroidery. 

We  cannot  trace  the  history  of  the  opposition  and  the  revolts 
of  the  great  nobles  which  William  had  to  meet  within  the  next 
few  years.  His  position  was  rendered  doubly  difficult  by  troubles 
which  he  encountered  on  the  Continent  as  Duke  of  Normandy. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  he  succeeded  in  maintaining  himself  against 
all  his  enemies. 


4IO 


Outlines  of  Europe aii  History 


William's  policy  in  England  exhibited  profound  statesman- 
ship. He  introduced  the  Norman  feudalism  to  which  he  was 
accustomed,  but  took  good  care  that  it  should  not  weaken  his 
power.  The  English,  who  had  refused  to  join  him  before  the 
battle  of  Hastings,  were  declared  to  have  forfeited  their  lands, 
but  were  permitted  to  keep  them  upon  condition  of  receiving 
them  back  from  the  king  as  his  vassals.  The  lands  of  those 
who  actually  fought  against  him  at  Hastings,  or  in  later  rebel- 
lions, including  the  great  estates  of  Harold's  family,  were  seized 
and  distributed  among  his  faithful  followers,  both  Norman 
and  English,  though  naturally  the  Normans  among  them  far 
outnumbered  the  English. 

William  declared  that  he  did  not  propose  to  change  the  Eng- 
lish customs,  but  to  govern  as  Edward  the.  Confessor,  the  last 
Saxon  king,  had  done.  He  maintained  the  Witenagemot,  a 
council  made  up  of  bishops  and  nobles,  whose  advice  the  Saxon 
kings  had  sought  in  all  important  matters.  But  he  was  a  man 
of  too  much  force  to  submit  to  the  control  of  his  people.  He 
avoided  giving  to  any  one  person  a  great  many  estates  in  a 
single  region,  so  that  no  one  should  become  inconveniently 
powerful.  Finally,  in  order  to  secure  the  support  of  the  smaller 
landholders  and  to  prevent  combinations  against  him  among 
the  greater  ones,  he  required  every  landowner  in  England  to 
take  an  oath  of  fidelity  directly  to  him,  instead  of  having  only  a 
few  great  landowners  as  vassals  who  had  their  own  subvassals 
under  their  own  control,  as  in  France. 

We  read  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  (1086):  "  He  came, 
on  the  first  day  of  August,  to  Salisbury,  and  there  came  to 
him  his  wise  men  (that  is,  counselors),  and  all  the  land-owning 
men  of  property  there  were  over  all  England,  whosoever  men 
they  were ;  and  all  bowed  down  to  him  and  became  his  men, 
and  swore  oaths  of  fealty  to  him  that  they  would  be  faithful  to 
him  against  all  other  men." 

It  is  clear  that  the  Norman  Conquest  was  not  a  simple  change 
of  kings,  but  that  a  new  element  was  added  to  the  English 


England  in  the  Middle  Ages  4 1 1 

people.  We  cannot  tell  how  many  Normans  actually  emigrated  General  re- 
across  the  Channel,  but  they  evidently  came  in  considerable  Norman^Con- 
numbers,  and  their  influence  upon  the  English  habits  and  gov-  ^^^^^ 
ernment  was  very  great.  A  century  after  William's  conquest 
the  whole  body  of  the  nobility,  the  bishops,  abbots,  and  govern- 
ment officials,  had  become  practically  all  Norman.  Besides  these, 
the  architects  who  built  the  castles  and  fortresses,  the  cathe- 
drals and  abbeys,  came  from  Normandy.  Merchants  from  the 
Norman  cities  of  Rouen  and  Caen -settled  in  London  and  other 
English  cities,  and  weavers  from  Flanders  in  various  towns 
and  even  in  the  country.  For  a  short  time  these  newcomers 
remained  a  separate  people,  but  by  the  year  1200  they  had 
become  for  the  most  part  indistinguishable  from  the  great  mass 
of  English  people  amongst  whom  they  had  come.  They  had 
nevertheless  made  the  people  of  England  more  energetic,  active- 
minded,  and  varied  in  their  occupations  and  interests  than  they 
had  been  before  the  conquest. 


Section  69.    Henry  II  and  the  Plantagenets 

William  the  Conqueror  was  followed   by  his  sons,  William   William 

Rufus  and  Henry  I.    Upon  the  death  of  the  latter  the  country    noo^^and  ^~ 

went  through  a  terrible  period  of  civil  war,  for  some  of  the   ^^"0^  i- 
^^  ^  '  1100-1135 

nobility  supported  the  Conqueror's  grandson  Stephen,  and  some 
his  granddaughter  Matilda.    After  the  death  of  Stephen,  when   Civil  war  end- 
Henry  II,  Matilda's  son,^  was  finally  recognized  in  1 154  by  all   cession  o^f^'^" 
as  king,  he  found  the  kingdom  in  a  melancholy  state.    The   Henry  11, 
nobles  had  taken  advantage  of  the  prevalent  disorder  to  erect 
castles  without  royal   permission   and  to  establish   themselves 
as  independent  rulers,  and  many  disorderly  hired  soldiers  had 
been  brought  over  from  the  Continent  to  support  the  rivals  for 
the  throne. 

Henry  II  at  once  adopted  vigorous  measures.    He  destroyed 
the  illegally  erected  fortresses,  sent  off  the  foreign  soldiers,  and 

i  See  genealogical  table  below,  p.  416. 


412 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Henry's  diffi- 
culties and 
his  success 
in  meeting 
them 


Trial  by  jury 


deprived  many  earls  who  had  been  created  by  Stephen  and 
Matilda  of  their  titles.  Henry's  task  was  a  difficult  one.  He 
had  need  of  all  his  tireless  energy  and  quickness  of  mind  to 
restore  order  in  England  and  at  the  same  time  rule  the  wide 
realms  on  the  Continent  which  he  had  either  inherited  or  gained 

through  his  marriage 
with  a  French  heiress. 
In  order  to  avoid 
all  excuse  for  the  pri- 
vate warfare  which 
was  such  a  persistent 
evil  on  the  Continent, 
he  undertook  to  im- 
prove and  reform  the 
law  courts.  He  ar- 
ranged that  his  j  udges 
should  make  regular 
circuits  throughout 
the  country,  so  that 
they  might  try  cases 
on  the  spot  at  least 
once  a  year.  We 
find,  too,  the  begin- 
ning of  our  grand 
jury  in  a  body  of  men 
in  each  neighborhood 
who  were  to  be  duly 
sworn  in,  from  time  to  time,  and  should  then  bring  accusations 
against  such  malefactors  as  had  come  to  their  knowledge. 

As  for  the  "  petty,"  or  smaller,  jury  of  twelve,  w^hich  actually 
tried  the  accused,  its  origin  and  history  are  obscure.  It  did  not 
originate  with  Henry  II,  but  he  systematized  trial  by  jury  and 
made  it  a  settled  law  of  the  land  instead  of  an  exceptional 
favor.  The  plan  of  delegating  to  twelve  men  the  duty  of  decid- 
ing on  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  a  suspected  person  was  very 


Fig.  162.    Norman  Gateway  at 
Bristol,  England 

This   beautiful   gateway  was    originally   the 

entrance  to  a  monastery,  begun  in  1142.    It 

is  one  of  the  finest  examples  of  the  Norman 

style  of  building  to  be  seen  in  England 


England  in  tJic  Middle 


A, 


413 


different  from  the  earlier 
systems.  It  resembled 
neither  the  Roman  trial, 
where  the  judges  made 
the  decision,  nor  the 
medieval  compurgation 
and  ordeals  (see  above, 
p.  331),  where  God  was 
supposed  to  pronounce 
the  verdict.  In  all  legal 
matters  the  decisions 
of  Henry's  judges  were 
so  wise  that  they  became 
the  basis  of  the  commoJi 
hnv  which  is  still  used 
in  all  English-speaking 
countries. 

Henry's  reign  was  em- 
bittered by  the  famous 
struggle  with  Thomas 
Becket,  which  illustrates 
admirably  the  peculiar 
dependence  of  the 
monarchs  of  his  day 
upon  the  churchmen. 
Becket  was  born  in 
London  and  became  a 
churchman,  but  he  grew 
up  in  the  service  of  the 
king  and  was  able  to  aid 
Henry  in  gaining  the 
throne.  Thereupon  the 
new  king  made  him 
his  chancellor.  Becket 
proved      an      excellent 


Fig.  163. 


Choir  of  Canterbury 
Cathedral 


The  choir  of  Canterbury  Cathedral  was 
destroyed  by  fire  four  years  after  Thomas 
Becket  was  murdered  there.  The  picture 
shows  how  it  was  rebuilt  under  Henry  II 
during  the  years  1 175-1 184.  The  two  lower 
rows  of  arches  are  the  round  kind  that 
had  been  used  up  to  that  time,  while  the 
upper  row  shows  how  the  pointed  arch 
was  coming  in  (see  below,  section  89) 


414 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Thomas 

Becket 

chancellor 


Made  Arch- 
bishop of 
Canterbury, 
Becket 
defends  the 
cause  of 
the  Church 
against  the 
king 


Murder  of 
Becket  and 
Henry's 
remorse 


minister  and  defended  the  king's  interest  even  against  the 
Church.  He  was  fond  of  hunting  and  of  war  and  maintained 
a  brilliant  court  from  the  revenues  of  the  numerous  church 
positions  which  he  held.  It  appeared  to  Henry  that  there  could 
be  no  better  head  for  the  English  clergy  than  his  sagacious 
and  worldly  chancellor.  He  therefore  determined  to  make  him 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 

In  securing  the  election  of  Becket  as  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, Henry  intended  to  insure  his  own  complete  control  of  the 
Church.  He  proposed  to  punish  churchmen  who  committed 
crimes,  like  other  offenders,  to  make  the  bishops  meet  all  the 
feudal  obligations,  and  to  prevent  appeals  to  the  Pope.  Becket, 
however,  immediately  gave  up  his  gay  life  and  opposed  every 
effort  of  the  king  to  reduce  the  independence  of  the  Church. 
After  a  haughty  assertion  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Church 
over  the  king's  government,^  Thomas  fled  from  the  wrathful 
and  disappointed  monarch  to  France  and  the  protection  of 
the  Pope. 

In  spite  of  a  patched-up  reconciliation  with  the  king,  Becket 
proceeded  to  excommunicate  some  of  the  great  English  prelates 
and,  as  Henry  believed,  was  conspiring  to  rob  his  son  of  the 
crown.  In  a  fit  of  anger,  Henry  exclaimed  among  his  followers, 
"  Is  there  no  one  to  avenge  me  of  this  miserable  churchman  ? " 
Unfortunately  certain  knights  took  the  rash  expression  literally, 
and  Becket  was  murdered  in  his  own  cathedral  of  Canterbury, 
whither  he  had  returned.  The  king  really  had  no  wish  to  resort 
to  violence,  and  his  sorrow  and  remorse  when  he  heard  of  the 
dreadful  deed,  and  his  terror  at  the  consequences,  were  most 
genuine.  The  Pope  proposed  to  excommunicate  him.  Henry, 
however,  made  peace  with  the  papal  legates  by  the  solemn  as- 
sertion that  he  had  never  wished  the  death  of  Thomas  and  by 
promising  to  return  to  Canterbury  all  the  property  which  he  had 
confiscated,  to  send  money  to  aid  in  the  capture  of  the  Holy 
Sepulcher  at  Jerusalem,  and  to  undertake  a  crusade  himself. 

1  See  below,  section  75. 


-tk.EHa.,     BUFFALO.         6 


The  Plant agexet  Possessions  in  England  and  France 
415 


4i6 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  French  Although  Henry  II  was  one  of  the  most  important  kings  in 

of  the^^^°"^  English  history,  he  spent  a  great  part  of  his  time  across  the 
Plantagenets  Channel  in  his  French  possessions.  A  glance  at  the  accompany- 
ing map  will  show  that  rather  more  than  half  of  his  realms  lay  to 
the  south  of  the  English  Channel.  He  controlled  more  territory 
in  France  than  the  French  king  himself.  As  great-grandson  of 
William  the  Conqueror,  he  inherited  the  duchy  of  Normandy 
and  the  suzerainty  over  Brittany.  His  mother,  Matilda,  had  mar- 
ried the  count  of  Anjou  and  Maine,  so  that  Henry  II  inherited 
these  fiefs  along  with  those  which  had  belonged  to  William  the 
Conqueror.  Lastly,  he  had  himself  married  Eleanor,  heiress  of  the 
dukes  of  Guienne,  and  in  this  way  doubled  the  extent  of  his  French 
lands.-^  Henry  II  and  his  successors  are  known  as  the  Plantag- 
enets, owing  to  the  habit  that  his  father,  the  count  of  Anjou, 
had  of  wearing  a  bit  of  broom  (^2X\wpIanta  gefiistd)  in  his  helmet. 
So  it  came  about  that  the  French  kings  beheld  a  new  State, 
under  an  able  and  energetic  ruler,  developing  within  their  bor- 
ders and  including  more  than  half  the  territory  over  which  they 
were  supposed  to  rule.  A  few  years  before  Henry  II  died,  an 
ambitious  monarch,  Philip  Augustus,  ascended  the  French 
throne,  and  made  it  the  chief  business  of  his  life  to  get  control 
of  his  feudal  vassals,  above  all,  the  Plantagenets, 

1  William  the  Conqueror,  king  of  England  (1066-1087) 


Philip  Au- 
gustus of 
France, 
1180-1223 


William  II  (Rufus) 
(1087-1100) 


Henry  I  (1100-1135), 

m.  Matilda,  daughter 

of  Malcolm,  king 

of  Scotland 

I 

Matilda  (d.  1167), 

m.  Geoffrey  Plantagenet, 

count  of  Anjou 

Henry  II  (i  154-1 189), 

the  first  Plantagenet  king, 

m.  Eleanor  of  Aquitaine 


I 

Adela,  m.  Stephen, 

count  of  Blois 

I 

Stephen  (1135-1154) 


Richard 
(1189-1199) 


Geoffrey 

I 
Arthur 


John 
(1199-1216) 

I 
Henry  III 
(1216-1272) 


England  in  tJic  Middle  Ages  4 1 7 

Henry  divided  his  French  possessions  among  his  three  sons,  Quarrels  in 
Geoffrey,  Richard,  and  John  ;  but  father  and  sons  were  engaged  family  ^ 
in  constant  disputes  with  one  another,  as  none  of  them  were 
easy  people  to  get  along  with.  Philip  Augustus  took  advantage 
of  these  constant  quarrels  of  the  brothers  among  themselves 
and  with  their  father.  These  quarrels  were  most  fortunate  for 
the  French  king,  for  had  the  Plantagenets  held  together  they 
might  have  annihilated  the  royal  house  of  France,  whose  narrow 
dominions  their  own  possessions  closed  in  on  the  west  and  south. 

So  long  as  Henry  H  lived  there  was  little  chance  of  expelling  Richard  the 
the  Plantagenets  from  France  ;  but  with  the  accession  of  his 
reckless  son,  Richard  the  Lion-Hearted,^  the  prospects  of  the 
French  king  brightened  wonderfully.  Richard  is  one  of  the 
most  famous  of  medieval  knights,  but  he  was  a  veiy  poor  ruler. 
He  left  his  kingdom  to  take  care  of  itself  while  he  went  upon 
a  crusade  to  the  Holy  Land  (see  below,  p.  471).  He  persuaded 
Philip  Augustus  to  join  him  ;  but  Richard  was  too  overbearing 
and  masterful,  and  Philip  too  ambitious,  to  make  it  possible  for 
them  to  agree  for  long.  The  king  of  France,  who  was  physi- 
cally delicate,  was  taken  ill  on  the  way  and  was  glad  of  the 
excuse  to  return  home  and  brew  trouble  for  his  powerful  vassal. 
When  Richard  himself  returned,  after  several  years  of  romantic 
but  fruitless  adventure,  he  found  himself  involved  in  a  war  with 
Philip  Augustus,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  died. 

Richard's  younger  brother  John,  who  enjoys  the  reputation  John  loses 
of  being  the  most  despicable  of  English  kings,  speedily  gave  possessions 
Philip  a  good  excuse  for  seizing  a  great  part  of  the  Plantagenet 
lands.  John  was  suspected  of  conniving  at  the  brutal  murder  of 
his  nephew  Arthur  (the  son  of  Geoffrey).  He  was  also  guilty 
of  the  less  serious  offense  of  carrying  off  and  marrying  a  lady 
betrothed  to  one  of  his  own  vassals.  Philip  Augustus,  as  John's 
suzerain,  summoned  him  to  appear  at  the  French  court  to  answer 
the  latter  charge.     Upon  John's   refusal  to   appear  or  to  do 

1  Geoffrey,  the  eldest  of  the  three  sons  of  Henry  II  mentioned  above,  died 
before  his  father. 
I 


of  his  house 


4i8  Outlines  of  Ej  trope  an  History 

homage  for  his  continental  possessions,  Philip  caused  his  court 
to  issue  a  decree  confiscating  almost  all  of  the  Plantagenet 
lands,  leaving  to  the  English  king  only  the  southwest  corner 
of  France. 

Philip  found  little  difficulty  in  possessing  himself  of  Normandy 

itself,  which  showed  no  disinclination  to  accept  him  in  place  of 

the  Plantagenets.    Six  years  after  Richard's  death  the  English 

kings  had  lost  all  their  continental  fiefs  except  Guienne.     It 

should  be  observed  that  Philip,  unlike  his  ancestors,  was  no 

longer  merely  suzerain  of  the  new  conquests,  but  was  himself 

duke  of  Normandy,  and  count  of  Anjou,  of  Maine,  etc.    The 

boundaries  of  his  domain — that  is,  the  lands  which  he  himself 

controlled  directly  as  feudal  lord  —  now  extended  to  the  sea. 

English  St.  Louis,  Philip's  successor,  arranged  with  John's  successor 

confinued  to     in  1 258  that  the  English  king  should  do  him  homage  for  Guienne, 

hold  south-       Gascony,  and  Poitou,  and  should  surrender  every  claim  on  all  the 

western  j  1  ■>  j 

France  rest  of  the  former  possessions  of  the  Plantagenets.    So  it  came 

about  that  the  English  kings  continued  to  hold  a  portion  of  France 
for  several  hundred  years. 
John  of  Eng-  John  not  only  lost  Normandy  and  other  territories  which  had 
a  vassal  of  belonged  to  the  earlier  Norman  kings  but  he  actually  consented 
the  Pope  ^Q  become  the  Pope's  vassal,  receive  England  as  a  fief  from 
the  papacy,  and  pay  tribute  to  Rome.  This  strange  proceeding 
came  about  in  this  wise :  The  monks  of  Canterbury  had  (1205) 
ventured  to  choose  an  archbishop  —  who  was  at  the  same  time 
their  abbot  ^  —  without  consulting  King  John.  Their  appointee 
hastened  off  to  Rome  to  gain  the  Pope's  confirmation,  while  the 
irritated  John  forced  the  monks  to  hold  another  election  and 
make  his  treasurer  archbishop.  The  Pope  at  that  time  was  no 
less  a  person  than  Innocent  III,  one  of  the  greatest  of  medieval 
rulers.^  Innocent  rejected  both  the  men  who  had  been  elected, 
sent  for  a  new  deputation  of  monks  from  Canterbury,  and  bade 
them  choose  Stephen  Langton,  a  man  of  great  ability.  John 
then  angrily  drove  the  monks  of  Canterbury  out  of  the  kingdom. 

1  See  above,  p.  357.  2  See  below,  p.  457. 


England  in  the  Middle  Ages  4 1 9 

Innocent  replied  by  placing  England  under  the  inte^'did ;  that  England  un- 
is  to  say,  he  ordered  the  clergy  to  close  all  the  churches  and  ^fcV  ^  '"^^'^' 
suspend  all  public  services  —  a  very  terrible  thing  to  the  people 
of  the  time.  John  was  excommunicated,  and  the  Pope  threatened 
that  unless  the  king  submitted  to  his  wishes  he  would  depose 
him  and  give  his  crown  to  Philip  Augustus  of  France.  As  Philip 
made  haste  to  collect  an  army  for  the  conquest  of  England, 
John  humbly  submitted  to  the  Pope  in  12 13.  He  went  so  far 
as  to  hand  England  over  to  Innocent  III  and  receive  it  back  as 
a  fief,  thus  becoming  the  vassal  of  the  Pope.  He  agreed  also 
to  send  a  yearly  tribute  to  Rome. 


Section  70.    The  Great  Charter  and  the 
Beginnings  of  Parliament 

We  must  now  turn  to  the  most  important  event  in  John's 
reign  —  the  drawing  up  of  the  Great  Charter  of  English 
liberties. 

When,  in  12 13,  John  proposed  to  lead  his  English  vassals  The  grant- 
across  the  water  in  order  to  attempt  to  reconquer  his  lost  pos-  Qfeat  Ch^ar- 
sessions  in  France,  they  refused  to  accompany  him  on  the  ground  *^^'  ^^^5 
that  their  feudal  obligations  did  not  bind  them  to  fight  outside 
of  their  country.  Moreover,  they  showed  a  lively  discontent  with 
John's  tyranny  and  his  neglect  of  those  limits  of  the  kingly 
power  which  several  of  the  earlier  Norman  kings  had  solemnly 
recognized.  In  12 14  a  number  of  the  barons  met  and  took  a 
solemn  oath  that  they  would  compel  the  king,  by  arms  if  neces- 
sary, to  sign  a  charter  containing  the  things  which,  according 
to  English  traditions,  a  king  might  not  do.  As  John  would  not 
agree  to  do  this,  it  proved  necessary  to  get  together  an  army 
and  march  against  him.  The  insurgent  nobles  met  him  at 
Runnymede,  not  far  from  London.  Here  on  the  15th  of  June, 
1 2 15,  they  forced  him  to  swear  to  observe  what  they  believed 
to  be  the  rights  of  his  subjects,  which  they  had  carefully 
written   out. 


420 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  provi- 
sions of  the 
Charter 
and  its 
importance 


Permanent 
value  of 
the  Charter 


The  Great  Charter  is  perhaps  the  most  famous  document  in 
the  history  of  government ;  ^  its  provisions  furnish  a  brief  and 
comprehensive  statement  of  the  burning  governmental  questions 
of  that  period.  It  was  really  the  whole  nation,  not  merely  the 
nobles,  who  concluded  this  great  treaty  with  a  tyrannous  ruler, 
for  the  rights  of  the  commoner  were  guarded  as  well  as  those 
of  the  noble.  The  king  promises  to  observe  the  rights  of  his 
vassals  and  not  to  abuse  his  feudal  prerogatives,  and  the  vassals 
in  turn  agree  to  observe  the  rights  of  their  men.  The  merchant 
is  not  to  be  deprived  of  his  goods  for  small  offenses,  nor  the 
farmer  of  his  wagon  and  implements.  The  king  is  to  impose  no 
tax,  besides  the  three  stated  feudal  aids,^  except  with  the  consent 
of  the  great  council  of  the  nation.  This  is  to  include  the  prelates 
and  greater  barons  and  all  who  hold  directly  of  the  king. 

There  is  no  more  notable  clause  in  the  Charter  than  that 
which  provides  that  no  one  is  to  be  arrested,  or  imprisoned,  or 
deprived  of  his  property,  unless  he  be  immediately  sent  before 
a^  court  of  his  peers  for  trial.  To  realize  the  importance  of  this, 
we  must  recollect  that  in  France,  down  to  1789,  —  nearly  six 
hundred  years  later,  —  the  king  exercised  such  unlimited  powers 
that  he  could  order  the  arrest  of  any  one  he  pleased,  and  could 
imprison  him  for  any  length  of  time  without  bringing  him  to 
trial  or  even  informing  hifti  of  the  nature  of  his  offense.  The 
Great  Charter  provided  further  that  the  king  should  permit 
merchants  to  move  about  freely  and  should  observe  the  privileges 
of  the  various  towns  ;  nor  were  his  officers  longer  to  be  allowed 
to  exercise  despotic  powers  over  those  under  them. 

In  spite  of  his  solemn  confirmation  of  the  Charter,  John, 
with  his  accustomed  treachery,  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to 
break  his  promises  in  the  Charter ;  but  neither  he  nor  his  suc- 
cessors ever  succeeded  in  getting  rid  of  the  document.  Later 
there  were  times  when  the  English  kings  evaded  its  provisions 


1  Extracts  from  the  Great  Charter  are  given  in  the  Readings^  chap.  xi. 

2  These  were  payments  made  when  the  lord  knighted  his  eldest  son,  gave  his 
eldest  daughter  in  marriage,  or  had  been  captured  and  was  waiting  to  be  ransomed. 


Efigland  iji  tJie  Middle  Ages  421 

and  tried  to  rule  as  absolute  monarchs.  But  the  people  always 
sooner  or  later  bethought  them  of  the  Charter,  which  thus  con- 
tinued to  form  a  barrier  against  permanent  despotism  in  England. 

During  the  long  reign  of  John's  son,  Henry  III,  England    Henry  ill, 
began  to  construct  her  Parliament,  an  institution  which  has  not 
only  played  a  most  important  role  in  English  history,  but  has 
also  served  as  the  model  for  similar  bodies  in  almost  every 
civilized  state  in  the  world. 

The  Great  Council  of  the  Norman  kings,  like  the  older  Wite- 
nagemot  of  Saxon  times,  was  a  meeting  of  nobles,  bishops,  and 
abbots,  which  the  king  summoned  from  time  to  time  to  give 
him  advice  and  aid,  and  to  sanction  important  governmental 
undertakings.  During  Henry's  reign  its  meetings  became  more 
frequent  and  its  discussions  more  vigorous  than  before,  and  the 
name  Pai'liainent  began  to  be  applied  to  it. 

In  1265  a  famous  Parliament  was  held,  where  a  most  impor-   The  Com- 
tant  new  class  of  members  —  the  commons  —  were  present,  who   moned"o^' 
were  destined  to  give  it  its  future  greatness.    In  addition  to  the   Parliament, 
nobles  and  prelates,  two  simple  knights  were  summoned  from 
each  county  and  two  citizens  from  each  of  the  more  flourishing 
towns  to  attend  and  take  part  in  the  discussions. 

Edward  I,  the  next  king,  definitely  adopted  this  innovation.    The  Model 
He  doubtless  called  in  the  representatives  of  the  towns  because   Edward^" 
the  townspeople  were  becoming  rich  and  he  wished  to  have  an    ^^95 
opportunity  to  ask  them  to  make  grants  of  money  to  meet  the 
expenses  of   the  government.     He  also  wished  to  obtain  the 
approval  of  all  classes  when   he  determined  upon   important 
measures  affecting  the  whole  realm.    Ever  since  the  so-called 
"Model  Parliament"  of  1295,  the  commons,  or  representatives 
of  the  people,  have  always  been  included  along  with  the  clergy 
and  nobility  when  the  national  assembly  of  England  has  been 
summoned. 

The  Parliament  early  took  the  stand  that  the  king  must  agree   Redress  of 
to  "  redress  of  grievances  "  before  they  would  grant  him  any 
money.    This  meant  that  the  king  had  to  promise  to  remedy  any 


422 


Outliues  of  European  History 


Growth  of 
powers  of 
Parliament 


House  of 
Lords  and 
House  of 
Commons 


acts  of  himself  or  his  officials  of  which  Parliament  complained 
before  it  would  agree  to  let  him  raise  the  taxes.  Instead  of  fol- 
lowing the  king  about  and  meeting  wherever  he  might  happen 
to  be,  the  parliament  from  the  time  of  Edward  I  began  to  hold 
its  sessions  in  the  city  of  Westminster,  now  a  part  of  London, 
where  it  still  continues  to  meet. 

Under  Edward's  successor,  Edward  II,  Parliament  solemnly 
declared  in  1322  that  important  matters  relating  to  the  king  and 
his  heirs,  the  state  of  the  realm  and  of  the  people  should  be  con- 
sidered and  determined  upon  by  the  king  "  with  the  assent  of  the 
prelates,  earls  and  barons,  and  the  commonalty  (that  is,  com- 
mons) of  the  realm."  Five  years  later  Parliament  showed  its 
powder  by  deposing  the  inefficient  king,  Edward  II,  and  declared 
his  son,  Edward  III,  the  rightful  ruler  of  England. 

The  new  king,  w^ho  was  carrying  on  an  expensive  war  with 
France,  needed  much  money  and  consequently  summoned  Par- 
liament every  year,  and,  in  order  to  encourage  its  members  to 
grant  him  money,  he  gratified  Parliament  by  asking  their  advice 
and  listening  to  their  petitions.  He  passed  no  new  law  without 
adding  "  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual 
and  temporal  and  of  the  commons." 

At  this  time  the  separation  of  the  two  houses  of  Parliament 
took  place,  and  ever  since  the  "  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  "  — 
that  is,  the  bishops  and  higher  nobles  —  have  sat  by  themselves 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  a  House  of  Commons,  including  the 
country  gentlemen  (knights)  and  the  representatives  elected  by 
the  more  important  towns,  have  met  by  themselves.  Parliament 
thus  made  up  is  really  a  modern,  not  a  medieval,  institution, 
and  we  shall  hear  much  of  it  later. 


Section  71.    Wales  and  Scotland 
Extent  of  the       The  English  kings  who  preceded  Edward  I  had  ruled  over 
England's       ^^^Y  ^  portion  of  the  island  of  Great  Britain.    To  the  v\^est 
Ed'"^^d  1^°"^^  of  their  kingdom  lay  the  mountainous   district  of  Wales,  in- 
(1272-1307)     habited  by   that   remnant   of    the   original    Britons   which   the 


England  in  the  Middle  Ages  423 

German  invaders  had  been  unable  to  conquer.  To  the  north  of 
England  was  the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  which  was  quite  inde- 
pendent except  for  an  occasional  recognition  by  the  Scotch 
kings  of  the  English  kings  as  their  feudal  superiors.  Edward  I, 
however,  succeeded  in  conquering  Wales  permanently  and 
Scotland  temporarily. 

For  centuries  a  border  warfare  had  been  carried  on  between  The  Welsh 
the  English  and  the  Welsh.  William  the  Conqueror  had  found  bards  ^^^ 
it  necessary  to  establish  a  chain  of  fortresses  on  the  Welsh  fron- 
tier, and  Chester,  Shrewsbury,  and  Monmouth  became  the  out- 
posts of  the  Normans.  While  the  raids  of  the  Welsh  constantly 
provoked  the  English  kings  to  invade  Wales,  no  permanent  con- 
quest was  possible,  for  the  enemy  retreated  into  the  mountains 
about  Snowdon,  and  the  English  soldiers  were  left  to  starve 
in  the  wild  regions  into  which  they  had  ventured.  The  Welsh 
were  encouraged  in  their  long  and  successful  resistance  against 
the  English  by  the  songs  of  their  bards,  who  promised  that 
their  people  would  sometime  reconquer  the  whole  of  England, 
which  they  had  possessed  before  the  coming  of  the  Angles 
and  Saxons. 

When   Edward   I   came   to   the    throne  he  demanded    that   Edward  i 
Llewellyn,  prince  of  Wales,  as  the  head  of  the  Welsh  clans  was   wafeT^^ 
called,  should  do  him  homage,    Llewellyn,  who  was  a  man  of 
ability  and  energy,  refused  the  king's  summons,  and  Edward 
marched  into  Wales.   Two  campaigns  were  necessary  before  the 
Welsh  finally  succumbed.    Llewellyn  was  killed  (1282),  and  with 
him  expired  the  independence  of  the  Welsh  people.    Edward 
divided  the  country  into  shires  and  introduced  English  laws  and 
customs,  and  his  policy  of  conciliation  was  so  successful  that 
there  was  but  a  single  rising  in  the  country  for  a  whole  century. 
He  later  presented  his  son  to  the  Welsh  as  their  prince,  and  from 
that  time  down  to  the  present  the  title  of  "  Prince  of  Wales  "   The  title  of 
has  usually  been  conferred  upon  the  heir  to  the  English  throne,    waies " 

The  conquest  of  Scotland  proved  a  far  more  difficult  matter 
than  that  of  Wales. 


424 


Outlines  of  European  Histoiy 


Lowlands  and 
Highlands 
of  Scotland 


When  the  German  peoples  —  the  Angles  and  Saxons  —  con- 
quered Britain,  some  of  them  wandered  north  as  far  as  the  Firth 
of  Forth  and  occupied  the  so-called  Lowlands  of  Scotland.  The 
mountainous  region  to  the  north,  known  as  the  Highlands,  con- 
tinued to  be  held  by  wild  tribes  related  to  the  Welsh  and  Irish 
and  talking  a  language  similar  to  theirs,  namely,  Gaelic.  There 
was  constant  w^arfare  between  the  older  inhabitants  themselves 
and  between  them  and  the  newcomers  from  Germany,  but  both 
Highlands  and  Lowlands  were  finally  united  under  a  line  of 


Fig.  164.   Conway  Castle 

Edward  built  this  fine  castle  in  1284  on  the  north  coast  of  Wales,  to 

keep  the  Welsh  in  check.   Its  walls  are  12  to  15  feet  in  thickness.  There 

were  buildings  inside,  including  a  great  banqueting  hall  130  feet  long 


Scottish  kings,  who  moved  their  residence  down  to  Edinburgh, 
which,  with  its  fortress,  became  their  chief  town. 

It  was  natural  that  the  language  of  the  Scotch  Lowlands 
should  be  English,  but  in  the  mountains  the  Highlanders  to  this 
day  continue  to  talk  the  ancient  Gaelic  of  their  forefathers. 
Edward  inter-  It  was  not  until  the  time  of  Edward  I  that  the  long  series 
Scotch  affairs  of  troubles  between  England  and  Scotland  began.  The  dying 
out  of  the  old  line  of  Scotch  kings  in  1290  was  followed  by 
the  appearance  of  a  number  of  claimants  to  the  crown.    In  order 


Scotland 
with  England 


England  in  the  Middle  Ages  425 

to  avoid  civil  war,  Edward  was  asked  to  decide  who  should 
be  king.     He  agreed  to  make  the  decision  on  condition  that 
the  one  whom  he  selected  should  hold  Scotland  as  a  Jief  from 
the   English   king.    This   arrangement   was   adopted,   and   the 
crown  was  given  to  John   Baliol.   But   Edward  unwisely  made 
demands  upon  the  Scots  which  aroused  their  anger,  and  their 
king    renounced   his    homage  to  the   king   of   England.     The 
Scotch,  moreover,  formed  an  alliance  with   Edward's  enemy.   Alliance  be- 
Philip  the  Fair  of  France ;   thenceforth,  in  all  the  difficulties   i^^d  and^° 
between  England  and   France,  the  English  kings  had  always   France 
to  reckon  with  the  disaffected  Scotch,  who  were  glad  to  aid 
England's  enemies. 

Edward  marched  in  person  against  the  Scotch  (1296)  and  Edward  at- 
speedily  put  down  what  he  regarded  as  a  rebellion.  He  declared  corporate  '" 
that  Baliol  had  forfeited  his  fief  through  treason,  and  that  con- 
sequently the  English  king  had  become  the  real  ruler  of  Scot- 
land. He  emphasized  his  claim  by  carrying  off  the  famous 
Stone  of  Scone  (now  in  Westminster  Abbey),  upon  which  the 
kings  of  Scotland  had  been  crowned  for  ages.  Continued  resist- 
ance led  Edward  to  attempt  to  incorporate  Scotland  with  Eng- 
land in  the  same  way  that  he  had  treated  Wales.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  three  hundred  years  of  intermittent  war  between 
England  and  Scotland,  which  ended  only  when  a  Scotch  king, 
James  VI,  succeeded  to  the  English  throne  in  1603  as  James  I. 

That  Scotland  was  able  to  maintain  her  independence  was 
mainly  due  to  Robert  Bruce,  a  national  hero  who  succeeded  in 
bringing  both  the  nobility  and  the  people  under  his  leadership. 
Edward  I  died,  old  and  worn  out,  in  1307,  when  on  his  way 
north  to  put  down  a  rising  under  Bruce,  and  left  the  task  of 
dealing  with  the  Scotch  to  his  incompetent  son,  Edward  H. 
The  Scotch  acknowledged  Bruce  as  their  king  and  decisively 
defeated  Edward  H  in  the  great  battle  of  Bannockburn,  the  Battle  of 
most  famous  conflict  in  Scottish  history.  Nevertheless,  the  j^j^ 
English  refused  to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  Scotland 
until  forced  to  do  so  in  1328. 


426 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Scottish 
nation  differs 
from  the 
English 


In  the  course  of  their  struggles  with  England  the  Scotch 
people  of  the  Lowlands  had  become  more  closely  welded  to- 
gether, and  the  independence  of  Scotland,  although  it  caused 
much  bloodshed,  first  and  last,  served  to  develop  certain  per- 
manent differences  between  the  little  Scotch  nation  and  the  rest 
of  the  English  race.  No  Scotchman  to  the  present  day  likes  to 
be  mistaken  for  an  Englishman.  The  peculiarities  of  the  lan- 
guage and  habits  of  the  people  north  of  the  Tweed  have  been 
made  familiar  to  all  readers  of  good  literature  by  the  novels  of 
Sir  Walter  Scott  and  Robert  L.  Stevenson  and  by  the  poems 
of  Robert  Burns. 


Section  72.    The  Hundred  Years'  War 

England  and  France  were  both  becoming  strong  states  in 
the  early  fourteenth  century.  The  king  in  both  of  these  countries 
had  got  the  better  of  the  feudal  lords,  and  a  parliament  had  been 
established  in  France  as  well  as  in  England,  in  which  the  tovv^ns- 
people  as  well  as  the  clergy  and  nobility  were  represented.  But 
both  countries  were  set  back  by  a  long  series  of  conflicts  known 
as  the  Hundred  Years'  War,  which  was  especially  disastrous  to 
France.    The  trouble  arose  as  follows  : 

It  will  be  remembered  that  King  John  of  England  had  lost 
all  the  French  possessions  of  the  Plantagenets  except  the  duchy 
of  Guienne  (see  above,  pp.  417-418).  For  this  he  had  to  do  hom- 
age to  the  king  of  France  and  become  his  vassal.  This  arrange- 
ment lasted  for  many  years,  but  in  the  times  of  Edward  III 
the  old  French  line  of  kings  died  out,  and  Edward  declared 
that  he  himself  was  the  rightful  ruler  of  all  France  because  his 
mother,  Isabella,  was  a  sister  of  the  last  king  of  the  old  line  (see 
table  on  the  next  page). 

The  PYench  lawyers,  however,  decided  that  Edward  had  no 
claim  to  the  French  throne  and  that  a  very  distant  relative  of 
the  last  king  was  the  rightful  heir  to  the  crown  (Philip  VI). 
Edward,  nevertheless,  maintained  that  he  was  rightfully  king  of 


Engla7id  hi  tJie  Middle  Ages 


427 


France.^  He  added  the  French  emblem  of  the  lilies  (fleur-de- 
lis)  to  the  lions  on  the  English  coat  of  arms  (Fig.  165).  In 
1346  he  landed  in  Normandy  with  an  English  army,  devas- 
tated the  country  and  marched  up  the  Seine  toward  Paris.  He 
met  the  troops  of  Philip  at  Cre'cy,  where  a  celebrated  battle  was  Battle  of 
fought,  in  which  the  English  with  their  long  bows  and  well-  ^"^^^^^  ^^^^ 
directed  arrows  put  to  rout  the  French  knights.  Ten  years 
later  the  English  made  another  incursion  into  France  and  again 
defeated  the  French  cavalry.  The  French  king  (John  H)  was 
himself  captured  and  carried  off  to  London. 

The  French  Parliament,  commonly  called  the  Estates  Gen- 
eral, came  together  to  consider  the  unhappy  state  of   affairs, 
The  members  from  the  towns  were  more  numerous  than  the   General) 
representatives   of   the    clergy    and   nobility.    A  great    list    of 


The  French 

Parliament 

(Estates 


1  The  French  kings  during  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries ; 
Louis  IX  (St.  Louis)  (1226-1270) 
Philip  III  (1270-1285) 


Philip  IV,  the  Fair 
(1285-1314) 


Charles  of  Valois, 
ancestor  of  the  house  of  Valois 


Louis  X 
(1314-1316) 
I 


I  I 

daughter      John 
(1316), 

an 

infant 

who  died 

when  but 

a  few 
days  old 


I  r         ^1 

Isabella,  m.       Philip  V      Charles  IV 
Edward  II     (1316-1322)   (1322-1328) 

Edward         daughters       daughter 
III  of  Philip  VI 

England  (1328-1350) 

John  II 
(1350-1364) 


Charles  V        Philip, 
(1364-1380)  founder  of 
I  the  power- 
Charles  VI  ful  house 
(1380-1422)        of  Bur- 
I  gundy 
Charles  VII  (1422-1461) 

I 
Louis  XI  (1461-1483) 

Charles  VIII  (1483-1498) 


428 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Contrast 
between  the 
position  of 
the  Estates 
General  and 
the  EngUsh 
Parliament 


reforms  was  drawn  up.  These  provided  among  other  things  that 
the  Estates  General  should  meet  regularly  even  when  the  king 
failed  to  summon  them,  and  that  the  collection  and  expenditure 
of  the  public  revenue  should  be  no  longer  entirely  under  the 
control  of  the  king  but  should  be  supervised  by  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people.  The  city  of  Paris  rose  in  support  of  the 
revolutionary  Estates,  but  the  violence  of  its  allies  discredited 

rather  than  helped  the  move- 
ment, and  France  was  soon 
glad  to  accept  the  unrestricted 
rule  of  its  king  once  more. 

The  history  of  the  Estates 
General  forms  a  curious  con- 
trast to  that  of  the  English 
Parliament,  which  was  laying 
the  foundation  of  its  later  power 
during  this  very  period.  While 
the  French  king  occasionally 
summoned  the  Estates  when  he 
needed  money,  he  did  so  only  in 
order  that  their  approbation  of 
new  taxes  might  make  it  easier 
to  collect  them.  He  never 
admitted  that  he  had  not  the 
right  to  levy  taxes  if  he  wished 
without  consulting  his  subjects. 
In  England,  on  the  other  hand,  the  kings  ever  since  the  time 
of  Edward  I  had  repeatedly  agreed  that  no  new  taxes  should 
be  imposed  without  the  consent  of  Parliament.  Edward  II,  as 
we  have  seen,  had  gone  farther  and  accepted  the  representatives 
of  the  people  as  his  advisers  in  all  important  matters  touching  the 
welfare  of  the  realm.  While  the  French  Estates  gradually  sank 
into  insignificance,  the  English  Parliament  soon  learned  to  grant 
no  money  until  the  king  had  redressed  the  grievances  which  it 
pointed  out,  and  thus  it  insured  its  influence  over  the  king's  policy. 


Fig. 


165.    Royal  Arms 
Edward  III 


OF 


On    the    upper    left-hand    quarter 

and  the  lower  right-hand  are  the 

lilies  as  represented  in  heraldry 


England  in  the  Middle  Ages  429 

Edward  III  found  it  impossible,  however,  to  conquer  France,    Edward  iii 
and  the  successor  of  the  French  King,  John  II,  managed  before   pofs^ibiJTo 
Edward  died  in    1^77   to  get  back  almost  all  the  lands  that   «>nquer 

'  '    ^  France 

the   English  had  occupied. 

For  a  generation  after  the  death  of  Edward  III  the  war  with  Miserable 
France  w^as  almost  discontinued.  France  had  suffered  a  great  France""  ° 
deal  more  than  England.  In  the  first  place,  all  the  fighting  had 
been  done  on  her  side  of  the  Channel,  and  in  the  second  place, 
the  soldiers,  who  found  themselves  without  occupation,  wandered 
about  in  bands  maltreating  and  plundering  the  people.  The 
famous  Italian  scholar,  Petrarch,  who  visited  France  at  this 
period,  tells  us  that  he  could  not  believe  that  this  was  the 
same  kingdom  which  he  had  once  seen  so  rich  and  flourishing. 
"  Nothing  presented  itself  to  my  eyes  but  fearful  solitude  and 
extreme  poverty,  uncultivated  land  and  houses  in  ruins.  Even 
about  Paris  there  were  everywhere  signs  of  fire  and  destruction. 
The  streets  were  deserted,  the  roads  overgrown  with  weeds." 

The  horrors  of  war  had  been  increased  by  the  deadly  bubonic   The  bubonic 
plague  which  appeared  in  Europe  early  in   1348.    In  April  it  ^3^8-1349 
had  reached  Florence ;   by  August  it  was  devastating  France  ^^(['^^P'^ 
and  Germany ;  it  then  spread  over  England  from  the  south-   black  death 
west  northward,  attacking  every  part  of  the  country  during  the 
year  1349.    This  disease,  like  other  terrible  epidemics,  such  as 
smallpox  and  cholera,  came  from  Asia.    Those  who  were  stricken 
with  it  usually  died  in  two  or  three  days.    It  is  impossible  to 
tell  what  proportion  of  the  population  perished.    Reports  of  the 
time  say  that  in  one  part  of  France  but  one  tenth  of  the  people 
survived,  in  another  but  one  sixteenth  ;  and  that  for  a  long  time 
five  hundred  bodies  were  carried  from  the  great  hospital   of 
Paris   every  day.    A  careful  estimate  shows  that  in  England 
toward  one  half  of  the  population  died.    At  the  Abbey  of  New- 
enham  only  the  abbot  and  two  monks  were  left  alive  out  of 
twenty-six.    There  were  constant  complaints  that  certain  lands 
were  no  longer  of  any  value  to  their  lords  because  the  tenants 
were  all  dead. 


430 


Outlines  of  European  History 


In  England  the  growing  discontent  among  the  farming 
classes  may  be  ascribed  partly  to  the  results  of  the  great  pesti- 
lence and  partly  to  the  new  taxes  which  were  levied  in  order  to 
prolong  the  disastrous  war  with  France.  Up  to  this  time  the 
majority  of  those  who  cultivated  the  land  belonged  to  some 
particular  manor,  paid  stated  dues  to  their  lord,  and  performed 
definite  services  for  him.  Hitherto  there  had  been  relatively 
few  farm  hands  who  might  be  hired  and  who  sought  employ- 
ment anyw^here  that  they  could  get  it.  The  black  death,  by 
greatly  decreasing  the  number  of  laborers,  raised  wages  and 
served  to  increase  the  importance  of  the  unattached  laborer. 
Consequently  he  not  only  demanded  higher  wages  than  ever 
before  but  readily  deserted  one  employer  when  another  offered 
him  more  money. 

This  appeared  very  shocking  to  those  who  were  accustomed 
to  the  traditional  rates  of  payment ;  and  the  government  under- 
took to  keep  down  wages  by  prohibiting  laborers  from  asking 
more  than  had  been  customary  during  the  years  that  preceded 
the  pestilence.  Every  laborer,  when  offered  work  at  the  estab- 
lished wages,  was  ordered  to  accept  it  on  pain  of  imprisonment. 
The  first  "Statute  of  Laborers"  was  issued  in  135 1  ;  but 
apparently  it  was  not  obeyed,  and  similar  laws  were  enacted 
from  time  to  time  for  a  century. 

The  old  manor  system  was  breaking  up.  Many  of  the  labor- 
ing class  in  the  country  no  longer  held  land  as  serfs  but  moved 
from  place  to  place  and  made  a  living  by  working  for  wages. 
The  villain,  as  the  serf  was  called  in  England,  began  to  regard 
the  dues  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  pay  to  his  lord  as 
unjust.  A  petition  to  Parliament  in  1377  asserts  that  the  vil- 
lains are  refusing  to  pay  their  customary  services  to  th^ir  lords 
or  to  acknowledge  the  obligations  which  they  owe  as  serfs. 

In  1 38 1  the  peasants  rose  in  revolt  against  the  taxes  levied 
on  them  to  carry  on  the  hopeless  war  with  France.  They  burned 
some  of  the  houses  of  the  nobles  and  of  the  rich  ecclesiastics,  and 
took  particular  pains  to  see  that  the  registers  were  destroyed 


England  in  the  Middle  Ages  431 

which  were  kept  by  the  various  lords  enumerating  the  obligations 
of  their  serfs. 

Although  the  peasants  met  with  little  success,  serfdom  de-   Final  disap- 
cayed  rapidly.    It  became  more  and  more  common  for  the  serf  serfdom  in 
to  pay  his  dues  to  the  lord  in  money  instead  of  working  for  him,   England 
and  in  this  way  he  lost  one  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  a  serf. 
The  landlord  then  either  hired  men  to  cultivate  the  fields  which 
he  reserved  for  his  own  use,  or  rented  the  land  to  tenants. 
These   tenants  were   not    in   a   position  to   force   their  fellow 
tenants  on  the  manor  to  pay  the  full  dues  which  had  formerly 
been  exacted   by  the  lord.     Sixty  or   seventy  years  after  the 
Peasants'  War  the  English  rural  population  had  in  one  way  or 
another  become  free  men,  and  serfs  had  practically  disappeared. 

The  war  between   England  and   France  almost  ceased  for   Renewal  of 
nearly  forty  years  after  the  death  of  Edward  III.    It  was  re-  years'  War 
newed  in  141 5,  and  the  English  king  won  another  great  victory   ^"  '-^^5 
at   Agincourt,   similar  to  that  won  at  Cre'cy.     Once  more  the 
English  bowmen  slaughtered  great  numbers  of  French  knights. 
Fifteen  years  later  the  English  had  succeeded  in  conquering  all 
of  France  north  of  the  Loire  River ;  but  a  considerable  region 
to  the  south  still  continued  to  be  held  by  King  Charles  VII  of 
France.    He  was  weak  and  indolent  and  was  doing  nothing  to 
check  the  English  victories.    The  English  were  engaged  in  be- 
sieging the  great  town  of  Orleans  when  help  and  encourage- 
ment came  to  the  French  from  a  most  unexpected  quarter.    A 
peasant  girl  put  on  a  soldier's  armor,  mounted  a  horse,  and  led 
the  faint-hearted  French  troops  to  victory. 

To  her  family  and  her  companions  Joan  of  Arc  seemed  only  Joan  of  Arc 
"  a  good  girl,  simple  and  pleasant  in  her  ways,"  but  she 
brooded  much  over  the  disasters  that  had  overtaken  her  coun- 
try, and  a  "  great  pity  on  the  fair  realm  of  France  "  filled  her 
heart.  She  saw  visions  and  heard  voices  that  bade  her  go  forth 
to  the  help  of  the  king  and  lead  him  to  Rheims  to  be  crowned. 

It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that   she  got  anybody  to 
believe  in  her  mission  or  to  help  her  to  get  an  audience  with 


432 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Relief  of 
Orleans  by 
Joan,  1429 


Execution  of 
Joan,  1431 


England 
loses  her 
French 
possessions 


her  sovereign.  But  her  own  firm  faith  in  her  divine  guidance 
triumphed  over  all  doubts  and  obstacles.  She  was  at  last  ac- 
cepted as  a  God-sent  champion  and  placed  at  the  head  of  some 
troops  dispatched  to  the  relief  of  Orle'ans.  This  city,  which  was 
the  key  to  southern  France,  had  been  besieged  by  the  English 
for  some  months  and  was  on  the  point  of  surrender.  Joan,  who 
rode  at  the  head  of  her  troops,  clothed  in  armor  like  a  man, 
had  now  become  the  idol  of  the  soldiers  and  of  the  people. 
Under  the  guidance  and  inspiration  of  her  courage,  sound  sense, 
and  burning  enthusiasm,  Orleans  was  relieved  and  the  English 
completely  routed.  The  Maid  of  Orleans,  as  she  was  hence- 
forth called,  was  now  free  to  conduct  the  king  to  Rheims, 
where  he  was  crowned  in  the  cathedral  (July  17,  1429). 

The  Maid  now  felt  that  her  mission  was  accomplished  and 
begged  permission  to  return  to  her  home  and  her  brothers  and 
sisters.  To  this  the  king  would  not  consent,  and  she  continued 
to  fight  his  battles  with  success.  But  the  other  leaders  were 
jealous  of  her,  and  even  her  friends,  the  soldiers,  w-ere  sensitive 
to  the  taunt  of  being  led  by  a  woman.  During  the  defense  of 
Compiegne  in  May,  1430,  she  was  allowed  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  sold  her  to  the  English.  They 
were  not  satisfied  with  simply  holding  as  prisoner  that  strange 
maiden  who  had  so  discomfited  them ;  they  wished  to  discredit 
everything  that  she  had  done,  and  so  declared,  and  undoubtedly 
believed,  that  she  was  a  witch  who  had  been  helped  by  the 
devil.  She  was  tried  by  a  court  of  clergymen,  found  guilty, 
and  burned  at  Rouen  in  1431.  Her  bravery  and  noble  con- 
stancy affected  even  her  executioners,  and  an  English  soldier 
who  had  come  to  triumph  over  her  death  was  heard  to  ex- 
claim, "We  are  lost  —  we  have  burned  a  saint."  The  English 
cause  in  France  was  indeed  lost,  for  her  spirit  and  example  had 
given  new  courage  and  vigor  to  the  French  armies. 

The  English  Parliament  became  more  and  more  reluctant  to 
grant  funds  when  there  were  no  more  victories  gained.  From 
this   time    on    the    English    lost  ground   steadily.    They  were 


Englaftd  in  the  Middle  Ages 


433 


expelled  from  Normandy  in  1450.  Three  years  later,  the  last 
vestige  of  their  possessions  in  southern  France  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  French  king.  The  Hundred  Years'  War  was 
over,  and  although  England  still  retained  Calais,  the  great  ques- 
tion whether  she  should  extend  her  sway  upon  the  Continent 
was  finally  settled. 

The  close  of  the  Hundred  Years'  War  was  followed  in  Eng- 
land by  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  between  the  rival  houses  which 
were  struggling  for  the  crown.  The  badge  of  the  house  of 
Lancaster  was  a  red  rose,  and  that  of  York  was  a  white  one.^ 
Each  party  was  supported  by  a  group  of  the  wealthy  and  pow- 
erful nobles  whose  conspiracies,  treasons,  murders,  and  execu- 
tions fill  the  annals  of  England  during  the  period  which  we  have 
been  discussing. 

The  nobles  no  longer  owed  their  power  as  they  had  in  pre- 
vious centuries  to  vassals  who  were  bound  to  follow  them  to 
war.  Like  the  king,  they  relied  upon  hired  soldiers.  It  was  easy 
to  find  plenty  of  restless  fellows  who  were  willing  to  become 
the  retainers  of  a  nobleman  if  he  would  agree  to  clothe  them 
and  keep  open  house,  where  they  might  eat  and  drink  their  fill. 
Their  master  was  to  help  them  when  they  got  into  trouble,  and 


End  of  the 
Hundred 
Years'  War, 
1453 


The  Wars  of 
the  Roses  be- 
tween the 
houses  of 
Lancaster 
and  York, 
1455-1485 


Retainers 


1  Descent  of  the  rival  houses  of  Lancaster  and  Yorlc 

Edward  III  (1327-1377) 

\ 


I 

Edward, 

the  Black  Prince 

(d.  1376) 

I 

Richard  L 

(1377-1399) 


I 

John  of  Gaunt, 
duke  of  Lancaster 

^^ 


Henry  IV  (1399-1413)  John  Beaufort 

I  I 

Henry  V  (1413-1422)    John  Beaufort 


Henry  VI  (1422-1461) 


i 

Edmund, 

duke  of  York 

I , 

I 


Richard 

I 
Richard 


Edward  IV     Richard  III 
(1461-1483)       (1483-1485) 


Edmund  Tudor,  m.  Margaret 
I 

Henry  VII,  m.  Elizabeth  of  York  Edward  V, 

(1485-1509)  murdered  in 

first  of  the  the  Tower, 

Tudor  kings  1483 


434 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Accession  of 
Henry  VII, 


The  despot- 
ism of  the 
Tudors 


France  estab- 
Hshes  a  stand- 
ing army, 
1439 


they  on  their  part  were  expected  to  intimidate,  misuse,  and 
even  murder  at  need  those  who  opposed  the  interests  of  their 
chief. 

It  is  needless  to  speak  of  the  several  battles  and  the  many 
skirmishes  of  the  miserable  Wars  of  the  Roses.     These  lasted 

from  1455,  when  the 
Duke  of  York  set  seri- 
ously to  work  to  dis- 
place the  weak-minded 
Lancastrian  king  (Henry 
VI),  until  the  accession 
of  Henry  VII,  of  the 
house  of  Tudor,  thirty 
years  later.  (See  table 
on  page  433.) 

The  Wars  of  the 
Roses  had  important 
results.  Nearly  all  the 
powerful  families  of 
England  had  been  drawn 
into  the  war,  and  a  great  part  of  the  nobility,  whom  the  kings 
had  formerly  feared,  had  perished  on  the  battle  field  or  lost 
their  heads  in  the  ruthless  executions  carried  out  by  each 
party  after  it  gained  a  victory.  This  left  the  king  far  more 
powerful  than  ever  before.  He  could  now  control  Parliament, 
even  if  he  could  not  do  away  with  it.  For  a  centur}^  and  more 
after  the  accession  of  Henry  VII  the  Tudor  kings  enjoyed 
almost  despotic  power.  England  ceased  for  a  time  to  enjoy 
the  free  government  for  which  the  foundations  had  been 
laid  under  the  Edwards,  whose  embarrassments  at  home  and 
abroad  had  made  them  constantly  dependent  upon  the  aid  of 
the  nation. 

In  France  the  closing  years  of  the  Hundred  Years'  War 
had  witnessed  a  great  increase  of  the  king's  power  through  the 
establishment  of  a  well-organized  standing  army.    The  feudal 


Fig.  166.   Portrait  of  Henry  VH 


England  in  the  Middle  Ages  435 

army  had  long  since  disappeared.  Even  before  the  opening 
of  the  war  the  nobles  had  begun  to  be  paid  for  their  military 
services  and  no  longer  furnished  troops  as  a  condition  of  hold- 
ing fiefs.  But  the  companies  of  soldiers  found  their  pay  very 
uncertain,  and  plundered  their  countr\^men  as  well  as  the 
enemy. 

As  the  war  drew  to  a  close,  the  lawless  troopers  became  a 
terrible  scourge  to  the  country  and  were  known  '&$>  flayers^  on 
account  of  the  horrible  way  in  which  they  tortured  the  peasants 
in  the  hope  of  extracting  money  from  them.  In  1439  ^^  Estates 
General  approved  a  plan  devised  by  the  king,  for  putting  an 
end  to  this  evil.  Thereafter  no  one  was  to  raise  a  company 
without  the  permission  of  the  king,  who  was  to  name  the 
captains  and  fix  the  number  of  the  soldiers. 

The  Estates  agreed  that  the  king  should  use  a  certain  tax,  Theperma- 
called  the  faille,  to  support  the  troops  necessary  for  the  pro-  f^tai  to^the 
tection  of  the  frontier.     This  was  a  fatal  concession,  for  the   powers  of  the 

'  Estates  Gen- 

king  now  had  an  army  and  the  right  to  collect  what  he  chose  to   eral 

consider  a  permanent  tax,  the  amount  of  which  he  later  greatly 

increased ;    he  was  not  dependent,  as  was  the  English  king, 

upon  the  grants  made  for  brief  periods  by  the  representatives 

of  the  nation. 

Before  the  king  of  France  could  hope  to  establish  a  compact,   The  new 

well-organized  state  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  reduce  the  power 

of  his  vassals,  some  of  whom  were  almost  his  equals  in  strength. 

The  older  feudal  families  had  many  of  them  succumbed  to  the 

attacks  and  the  diplomacy  of  the  kings  of  the  thirteenth  century, 

especially  of  St.  Louis.     But  he  and  his  successors  had  raised 

up  fresh  rivals  by  granting  whole  provinces  to  their  younger 

sons.    In  this  way  new  and  powerful  lines  of  feudal  nobles  were 

established,  such,  for  example,  as  the  houses  of  Orleans,  Anjou, 

Bourbon,  and,  above  all,  Burgundy.    The  process  of  reducing 

the  power  of  the  nobles  had,  it  is  true,  been  begun.    They  had 

been  forbidden  to  coin  money,  to  maintain  armies,  and  to  tax 

their  subjects,  and  the  powers  of  the  king's  judges  had  been 


436 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Work  of 
Louis  XI 


England  and 
France  estab- 
lish strong 
national  gov- 
ernments 


extended  over  all  the  realm.  But  the  task  of  consolidating 
France  was  reserved  for  the  son  of  Charles  VII,  the  shrewd 
and  treacherous  Louis  XI  (i 461-1483). 

The  most  powerful  and  dangerous  of  Louis  XI's  vassals 
were  the  dukes  of  Burgundy,  and  they  gave  him  a  great  deal  of 
trouble.   Of  Burgundy  something  will  be  said  in  later  chapters. 

Louis  XI  had  himself  made 
heir  to  a  number  of  provinces  in 
central  and  southern  France,  — 
Anjou,  Maine,  Provence,  etc., 
—  which  by  the  death  of 
their  possessors  came  under  the 
king's  immediate  control  ( 1 48 1 ). 
He  humiliated  in  various  ways 
the  vassals  who  in  his  early 
days  had  combined  against  him. 
The  Duke  of  Alengon  he  im- 
prisoned ;  the  rebellious  Duke 
of  Nemours  he  caused  to  be 
executed  in  the  most  cruel 
manner.  Louis's  aims  were 
worthy,  but  his  means  were  generally  despicable.  It  some- 
times seemed  as  if  he  gloried  in  being  the  most  rascally  among 
rascals,  the  most  treacherous  among  the  traitors. 

Both  England  and  France  emerged  from  the  troubles  and 
desolations  of  the  Hundred  Years'  War  stronger  than  ever 
before.  In  both  countries  the  kings  had  overcome  the  menace 
of  feudalism  by  destroying  the  power  of  the  great  families. 
The  royal  government  was  becoming  constantly  more  powerful. 
Commerce  and  industry  increased  the  people's  wealth  and  sup- 
plied the  monarchs  with  the  revenue  necessar)^  to  maintain  gov- 
ernment officials  and  a  sufficient  army  to  keep  order  throughout 
their  realms.  They  were  no  longer  forced  to  rely  upon  the 
uncertain  fidelity  of  their  vassals.  In  short,  England  and 
France  were   both   becoming:   modern   states. 


Fig.  167.  Louis  XI  of  Fkaxce 


England  in  the  Middle  Ages  437 

QUESTIONS 

Section  68,  Tell  what  you  can  about  England  before  the  Nor- 
man Conquest.  How  did  Normandy  come  into  existence?  How 
did  William  of  Normandy  get  possession  of  England?  What  was 
William's  policy  after  he  conquered  England  ? 

Section  69.  Mention  some  of  the  reforms  of  Henry  II.  Describe 
Henry's  troubles  with  Thomas  Becket.  Wliat  was  the  extent  of 
the  possessions  of  the  Plantagenets  in  France?  In  what  way  did  the 
French  king  succeed  in  getting  a  considerable  part  of  the  Plantagenet 
possessions  into  his  own  hands?  Describe  the  chief  events  in  the 
reign  of  King  John  of  England. 

Section  70.  How  was  the  Great  Charter  granted,  and  what  were 
some  of  its  main  provisions  ?  W^hat  is  the  English  Parliament  ?  When 
was  it  formed  ?  What  were  its  powers  ? 

Section  71.  When  was  Whales  conquered  by  the  English  kings? 
What  are  the  Highlands  and  the  Lowlands  of  Scotland?  Tell  of  the 
attempts  of  Edward  I  to  get  possession  of  Scodand. 

Section  72.  Give  the  origin  and  general  course  of  the  Hundred 
Years'  War  under  Edward  III.  Why  did  not  the  Estates  General 
become  as  powerful  as  the  English  Parliament?  Tell  about  the  black 
death.  What  led  to  the  disappearance  of  serfdom  in  England  ?  Give 
an  account  of  Joan  of  Arc.  What  were  the  great  causes  of  disorder 
in  England  during  the  generation  before  the  accession  of  Henry  VII  ? 
Why  did  feudalism  revive  in  France?  What  was  accomplished  by 
Louis  XI  ? 


^-^r^l^^S^ 


^-at 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


POPES  AND  EMPERORS 


Section  73.    Origin  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire 

Charlemagne's  successors  in  the  German  part  of  his  em- 
pire found  it  quite  as  hard  as  did  the  kings  of  the  western, 
or  French,  kingdom  to  keep  control  of  their  vassals.  Germany, 
like  France,  was  divided  up  into  big  and  little  fiefs,  and  the 
dukes  and  counts  were  continually  waging  war  upon  each  other 
and  upon  their  king.  The  general  causes  of  this  chronic  disorder 
in  the  Middle  Ages  have  been  described  in  a  previous  chapter. 

The  first  German  ruler  whom  we  need  to  notice  here  was 
Otto  the  Great,  who  came  to  the  throne  in  the  year  936.  He 
got  as  many  of  the  great  fiefs  as  possible  into  the  hands  of  his 
relatives  in  the  hope  that  they  would  be  faithful  to  him.  He 
put  an  end  forever  to  the  invasions  of  the  Hungarians  who  had 
been  ravaging  Germany.  He  defeated  them  in  a  great  batde 
near  Augsburg  and  drove  them  out  of  his  realms.  As  has 
already  been  said  (see  above,  p.  386),  they  finally  settled  in 
eastern  Europe  and  laid  the  foundations  of  what  is  now  the 
important   state  of   Hungary. 

438 


Popes  and  Emperors  439 

But  the  most  noteworthy  of  Otto's  acts  was  his  interference 
in  Italian  affairs,  which  led  to  his  winning  for  the  German  kings 
the  imperial  crown  that  Charlemagne  had  worn.  We  have  seen 
how  Charlemagne's  successors  divided  up  his  realms  into  three 
parts  by  the  Treaty  of  Mersen  in  870  (see  above,  p.  382).  One 
of  these  parts  was  the  kingdom  of  Italy.  We  know  but  litde 
of  what  went  on  in  Italy  for  some  time  after  the  Treaty  of 
Mersen.  There  was  incessant  warfare,  and  the  disorder  was 
increased  by  the  attacks  of  the  Mohammedans.  Various  power- 
ful nobles  were  able  to  win  the  crown  for  short  periods.  Three 
at  least  of  these  Italian  kings  were  crowned  Emperor  by  the 
Pope.  Then  for  a  generation  there  was  no  Emperor  in  the  west, 
until  Otto  the  Great  again  secured  the  title. 

It  would  seem  as  if  Otto  had  quite  enough  trouble  at  home,   Otlo  the 
but  he  thought  that  it  would  make  him  and  his  reign  more   comes  king  of 
glorious  if  he  added  northern  Italy  to  his  realms.    So  in  951    jg^^^'j;  ^^g"^ 
he  crossed  the  Alps,  married  the  widow  of  one  of  the  Italian   crowned 
kings,  and,  without  being  formally  crow^ned,  was  generally  ac- 
knowledged as  king  of  Italy.    He  had  to  hasten  back  to  Ger- 
many to  put  down  a  revolt  organized  by  his  own  son,  but  ten 
years  later  he  was  called  to  Rome  by  the  Pope  to  protect  him  . 
from  the  attacks  of  his  enemies.    Otto  accepted  the  invitation, 
and   the  grateful  Pope  in   return   crowned  him   Emperor,   as 
Charlemagne's  successor  (962). 

The  coronation  of  Otto  was  a  very  important  event  in  Ger- 
man history ;  for,  from  this  time  on,  the  German  kings,  instead 
of  confining  their  attention  to  keeping  their  own  kingdom  in 
order,  were  constantly  distracted  by  the  necessity  of  keeping 
hold  on  their  Italian  kingdom,  which  lay  on  the  other  side  of  a 
great  range  of  mountains.  Worse  than  that,  they  felt  that  they 
must  see  to  it  that  a  Pope  friendly  to  them  was  elected,  and 
this  greatly  added  to  their  troubles. 

The  succeeding  German  emperors  had  usually  to  make  sev- 
eral costly  and  troublesome  journeys  to  Rome,  —  a  first  one  to 
be  crowned,  and  then  others  either  to  depose  a  hostile  Pope  or 


440 


Outlines  of  European  History 


to  protect  a  friendly  one  from  the  oppression  of  neighboring 
lords.  These  excursions  were  very  distracting,  especially  to  a 
ruler  who  left  behind  him  in  Germany  a  rebellious  nobility  that 
always  took  advantage  of  his  absence  to  revolt. 

Otto's  successors  dropped  their  old  title  of  king  of  the  East 
Franks  as  soon  as  they  had  been  duly  crowned  by  the  Pope  at 
Rome,  and  assumed  the  magnificent  and  all-embracing  designa- 
tion, "  Emperor  Ever  August  of  the  Romans."^  Their  "  Holy 
Roman  Empire,"  as  it  came  to  be  called  later,  which  was  to 
endure,  in  name  at  least,  for  more  than  eight  centuries,  was 
obviously  even  less  like  that  of  the  ancient  Romans  than  was 
Charlemagne's.  As  kings  of  Germany  and  Italy  they  had  prac- 
tically all  the  powers  that  they  enjoyed  as  emperors.  The  title 
of  Emperor  was  of  course  a  proud  one,  but  it  gave  the  German 
kings  no  additional  power  except  the  fatal  right  that  they  claimed 
of  taking  part  in  the  election  of  the  Pope.  We  shall  find  that, 
instead  of  making  themselves  feared  at  home  and  building  up 
a  great  state,  the  German  emperors  wasted  their  strength  in 
a  long  struggle  with  the  popes,  who  proved  themselves  in  the 
end  far  stronger,  and  eventually  reduced  the  Empire  to  a  mere 
shadow. 

Section  74.    The  Church  and  its  Property 

In  order  to  understand  the  long  struggle  between  the  em- 
perors and  the  popes,  we  must  stop  a  moment  to  consider 
the  condition  of  the  Church  in  the  early  Middle  Ages.  It 
seemed  to  be  losing  all  its  strength  and  dignity  and  to  be 
falling  apart,  just  as  Charlemagne's  empire  had  dissolved  into 
feudal  bits.  This  was  chiefly  due  to  the  vast  estates  of  the 
clergy.  Kings,  princes,  and  rich  landowners  had  long  con- 
sidered it  meritorious  to   make    donations   to  bishoprics    and 


1  Henry  II  (1002-1024)  and  his  successors,  not  venturing  to  assume  the  title 
of  Emperor  till  crowned  at  Rome,  but  anxious  to  claim  Rome  as  attached  to  the 
German  crown,  began  to  call  themselves,  before  their  coronation,  "  King  of  the 
Romans." 


TESIO    /  LoiigitiHle       Kast       15       from  Greenwich 


Popes  and  Emperors  44 1 

monasteries,  so  that  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  land 
in  western  Europe  had  come  into  the  hands  of  churchmen. 

A  king,   or  other   landed  proprietor,   might  grant  fiefs  to   The  Church 
churchmen  as  well  as  to   laymen.     The  bishops  became  the  into^the^^" 
vassals  of  the  king  or  of  other  feudal  lords  by  doing  homage   f^"^^^ 
for  a  fief  and  swearing  fidelity,  just  as  any  other  vassal  would 
do.    An  abbot  would  sometimes  secure  for  his  monastery  the 
protection  of  a  neighboring  lord  by  giving  up  his  land  and 
receiving  it  back  again  as  a  fief. 

One  great  difference,  however,  existed  between  the  Church   Fiefs  held 
lands   and   the   ordinary   fiefs.     According   to   the   law  of  the   nfgn  not 
Church,  the  bishops  and  abbots  could  not  marry  and  so  could   hereditary 
have  no  children  to  whom  they  might  transmit  their  property. 
Consequently,  when  a  landholding  churchman  died,  some  one 
had  to  be  chosen  in  his  place  who  should  enjoy  his  property 
and  perform  his  duties.    The  rule  of  the  Church  had  been, 
from  time  immemorial,  that  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  should 
choose  the  bishop,  their  choice  being  ratified  by  the  people.    As 
for  the  abbots,  they  were,  according  to  the  Rule  of  St.  Benedict, 
to  be  chosen  by  the  members  of  the  monastery. 

In  spite  of  these  rules,  the  bishops  and  abbots  had  come,   Bishops 
in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries,  to  be  selected,  to  all  intents   practlcalV 
and  purposes,  by  the  various  kings  and  feudal  lords.    It  is  true   *^u°^/"i^-\ 
that  the  outward  forms  of  a  regular  election  were  usually  per-  lords 
mitted ;    but  the  feudal  lord  made  it  clear  whom  he  wished 
chosen,  and  if  the  wrong  person  was  elected,  he  simply  refused 
to  hand  over  to  him  the  lands  attached  to  the  bishopric  or 
abbey.     The  lord  could  in  this  way  control  the  choice  of  the 
prelates,  for  in  order  to  become  a  real  bishop  or  abbot,  one 
had  not  only  to  be  elected,  he  had  also  to  be  solemnly  "  in- 
vested "  with   the   appropriate   powers   of   a   bishop   or   abbot 
and  with  his  lands. 

When  a  bishop  or  abbot  had  been  duly  chosen,  the  feudal    investiture 
lord  proceeded  to  the  investiture.   The  new  bishop  or  abbot  first 
became  the  ''  man  "  of  the  lord  by  doing  him  homage,  and  then 


442 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Attitude  of 
the  Church 
toward  its 
property 


Attitude  of 
the  king 


Difficult 
position  of 
the  bishops 
in  Germany 
and  else- 
where 


the  lord  transferred  fo  him  the  lands  and  rights  attached  to 
the  office.  No  careful  distinction  appears  to  have  been  made 
between  the  property  and  the  religious  powers.  The  lord  often 
conferred  both  by  bestowing  upon  a  bishop  the  ring  and  the 
crosier  (see  headpiece  to  Chapter  XX,  p.  475),  the  emblems  of 
religious  authority.  It  seemed  shocking  enough  that  the  lord, 
who  was  often  a  rough  soldier,  should  dictate  the  selection  of 
the  bishops ;  but  it  was  still  more  shocking  that  he  should  assume 
to  confer  religious  powers  with  religious  emblems.  Yet  even 
worse  things  might  happen,  since  sometimes  the  lord,  for  his 
greater  convenience,  had  himself  made  bishop. 

The  Church  itself  naturally  looked  at  the  property  attached 
to  a  church  office  as  a  mere  incident  and  considered  the  religious 
prerogatives  the  main  thing.  And  since  the  clergy  alone  could 
rightly  confer  these,  it  was  natural  that  they  should  claim  the 
right  to  bestow  the  lands  ("  temporalities  ")  attached  to  them 
upon  whomsoever  they  pleased  without  consulting  any  layman 
whatever. 

Against  this  claim  the  king  might  urge  that  a  simple  minister 
of  the  Gospel,  or  a  holy  monk,  was  by  no  means  necessarily 
fitted  to  manage  the  interests  of  a  feudal  state,  such  as  the 
great  archbishoprics  and  bishoprics,  and  even  the  abbeys,  had 
become  in  Germany  and  elsewhere  in  the  eleventh  century. 

In  short,  the  situation  in  which  the  bishops  found  themselves 
was  very  complicated,  (i)  As  an  officer  of  the  Church,  the 
bishop  saw  to  it  that  parish  priests  were  properly  selected 
and  ordained,  he  tried  certain  cases  in  his  court,  and  performed 
the  church  ceremonies.  (2)  He  managed  the  lands  which  be- 
longed to  the  bishopric,  which  might,  or  might  not,  be  fiefs. 
(3)  As  a  vassal  of  those  who  had  granted  lands  to  the  bishopric 
upon  feudal  terms,  he  owed  the  usual  feudal  dues,  including  the 
duty  of  furnishing  troops,  to  his  lord.  (4)  Lastly,  in  Germany,  the 
king  had  found  it  convenient,  from  about  the  beginning  of 
the  eleventh  century,  to  confer  upon  the  bishops  in  many  cases 
the  authority  of  a  count  in  the  districts  about  them.    In  this 


Popes  and  Empcro7's  443 

way  they  might  have  the  right  to  collect  tolls,  coin  money,  and 
perform  other  important  governmental  duties.  When  a  prelate 
took  office  he  was  invested  with  all  these  various  functions  at 
once,  both  spiritual  and  governmental. 

To  forbid  the  king  to  take  part  in  the  investiture  was,  con- 
sequently, to  rob  him  not  only  of  his  feudal  rights  but  also 
of  his  authority  over  many  of  his  government  officials,  since 
bishops,  and  sometimes  even  abbots,  were  often  counts  in  all 
but  name.  He  therefore  found  it  necessary  to  take  care  who 
got  possession  of  the  important  church  offices. 

Still  another  danger  threatened  the  wealth  and  resources  of  The  marriage 
the  Church.    During  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries  the  rule   Ehrea^enrSe 
of  the  Church  prohibiting  the  clergy  from  marrying  appears  to   pP^*\*^^  ^^^ 
have   been  widely  neglected  in   Italy,   Germany,   France,   and 
England.     To  the  stricter  people  of  the  time  this  appeared  a 
terrible  degradation  of  the  clergy,  who,  they  felt,  should  be 
unencumbered  by  family  cares  and  should  devote  themselves 
wholly  to  the  service  of  God.    The  question,  too,  had  another 
side.     It  was  obvious  that  the  property  of  the  Church  would 
soon  be  dispersed  if  the  clergy  were  allowed  to  marry,  since 
they  would  wish  to  provide   for  their   children.     Just  as  the 
feudal  lands  had  become  hereditary,  so  the  church  lands  would 
become   hereditary  unless   the   clergy  were   forced   to   remain 
unmarried. 

Besides  the  feudalizing  of  its  property  and  the  marriage  of  Buying  and 
the  clergy,  there  was  a  third  great  and  constant  source  of  church  offices 
weakness  and  corruption  in  the  Church,  at  this  period,  namely, 
the  temptation  to  buy  and  sell  church  offices.  Had  the  duties 
and  responsibilities  of  the  bishops,  abbots,  and  priests  always 
been  heavy,  and  their  income  slight,  there  would  have  been 
little  tendency  to  bribe  those  who  could  bestow  the  offices.  But 
the  incomes  of  bishoprics  and  abbeys  were  usually  considerable, 
and  sometimes  very  great,  while  the  duties  attached  to  the 
office  of  bishop  or  abbot,  however  serious  in  the  eyes  of  the 
right-minded,  might  easily  be  neglected  by  the  unscrupulous. 


444  Outlines  of  European  History 

The  revenue  from  a  great  landed  estate  and  the  high  rank 
that  went  with  the  office  were  enough  to  induce  the  members 
of  the  noblest  families  to  vie  with  each  other  in  securing  church 
positions.  The  king  or  prince  who  possessed  the  right  of  inves- 
titure was  sure  of  finding  some  one  willing  to  pay  something 
for  important  benefices. 
Origin  of  The  sin  of  buying  or  selling  church  offices  was  recognized 

the  term  .  ^  n     i        •  ,,  i  i      •       i 

"simony"  as  a  most  serious  one.  It  was  called  "simony,  a  name  derived 
from  Simon  the  Magician,  who,  according  to  the  account  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  offered  money  to  the  Apostle  Peter  if  he 
would  give  him  the  power  of  conferring  the  Holy  Spirit  upon 
those  upon  whom  he  should  lay  his  hands.  As  the  apostle 
denounced  this  first  simonist,  —  "  Thy  silver  perish  with  thee, 
because  thou  hast  thought  to  obtain  the  gift  of  God  with  money  " 
(Acts  viii,  20),  —  so  the  Church  has  continued  ever  since' to 
denounce  those  who  propose  to  purchase  its  sacred  powers. 
Simony  not  Doubtless  very  few  bought  positions  in  the  Church  with  the 

of  church         view  of  obtaining  the  "  gift  of  God,"  that  is  to  say,  the  religious 
offices  office.    It  was  the   revenue   and  the   honor  that  were   chiefly 

coveted.  Moreover,  when  a  king  or  lord  accepted  a  gift  from 
one  for  whom  he  procured  a  benefice,  he  did  not  regard  him- 
self as  selling  the  office ;  he  merely  shared  its  advantages.  No 
transaction  took  place  in  the  Middle  Ages  without  accompany- 
ing gifts  and  fees  of  various  kinds. 
Simony  cor-  The '  evil  of  simony  was,  nevertheless,  very  demoralizing,  for 

lower  clergy  it  Spread  downward  and  infected  the  whole  body  of  the  clergy. 
A  bishop  who  had  made  a  large  outlay  in  obtaining  his  office 
naturally  expected  something  from  the  priests,  whom  it  was  his 
duty  to  appoint.  Then  the  priest,  in  turn,  was  tempted  to  exact 
too  much  for  baptizing  and  marrying  his  parishioners,  and  for 
burying  the  dead. 

So  it  seemed,  at  the  opening  of  the  eleventh  century,  as  if 
the  Church  was  to  be  dragged  down  by  its  property  into  the 
anarchy  of  feudalism  described  in  a  preceding  chapter. 

1  Pronounced  stm'o-ny. 


Popes  and  Emperors  44  5 

The  popes  had,  therefore,  many  difficulties  to  overcome  in 
the  gigantic  task  which  they  undertook  of  making  the  Church 
a  great  international  monarchy,  like  the  Roman  Empire,  with 
its  capital  at  Rome.  The  control  exercised  by  kings  and  feudal 
lords  in  the  selection  of  Church  officials  had  to  be  done  away 
with.  Simony  with  its  degrading  effects  had  to  be  abolished. 
The  marriage  of  the  clergy  had  to  be  checked,  for  fear  that  the 
property  and  wealth  of  the  Church  would  go  to  their  families 
and  so  be  lost  to  the  Church. 

The  first  great  step  toward  the  freeing  of  the  Church  from  Pope  Nicho- 
the  control  of  the  kings  and  feudal  lords  was  taken  by  Pope  the  elecdon^ 
Nicholas   II.    In  loco   he  issued  a  remarkable  decree  which   pf  the  popes 

•^  -'  in  the  hands 

took  the  election  of  the  head  of  the  Church  once  for  all  out  of  of  the  cardi- 
the  hands  of  both  the  Emperor  and  the  people  of  Rome,  and 
placed  it  definitely  and  forever  in  the  hands  of  the  cardinals, 
who  represented  the  Roman  clergy.^  Obviously  the  object  of 
this  decree  was  to  prevent  all  interference,  whether  of  the  dis- 
tant Emperor,  of  the  local  nobility,  or  of  the  Roman  mob.  The 
college  of  cardinals  still  exists  and  still  elects  the  Pope. 

The  reform  party  which  directed  the  policy  of  the  popes  Opposition  to 
had,  it  hoped,  freed  the  head  of  the  Church  from  the  control  of  reforms 
worldly  men  by  putting  his  election  in  the  hands  of  the  Roman 
clergy.  It  now  proposed  to  emancipate  the  Church  as  a  whole 
from  the  base  entanglements  of  earth :  first,  by  strictly  for- 
bidding the  married  clergy  to  perform  religious  functions  and  by 
exhorting  their  flocks  to  refuse  to  attend  their  ministrations ; 
and  secondly,  by  depriving  the  kings  and  feudal  lords  of  their 
influence  over  the  choice  of  the  bishops  and  abbots,  since  this 

1  The  word  "  cardinal"  (Latin  cardmalis,  "  principal  ")  was  applied  to  the  priests 
of  the  various  parishes  in  Rome,  to  the  several  deacons  connected  with  the 
Lateran,  —  which  was  the  cathedral  church  of  the  Roman  bishopric,  —  and,  lastly, 
to  six  or  seven  suburban  bishops  who  officiated  in  turn  in  the  Lateran.  The  title 
became  a  very  distinguished  one  and  was  sought  by  ambitious  foreign  prelates 
and  ecclesiastical  statesmen,  like  Wolsey,  Richelieu,  and  Mazarin.  If  their 
oflficial  titles  were  examined,  it  would  be  found  that  each  was  nominally  a  cardinal 
bishop,  priest,  or  deacon  of  some  Roman  Church.  The  number  of  cardinals 
varied  until  fixed,  in  1586,  at  six  bishops,  fifty  priests,  and  fourteen  deacons. 


446  Outlines  of  European  History 

influence  was  deemed  the  chief  cause  of  worldliness  among  the 
prelates.  Naturally  these  last  measures  met  with  far  more 
general  opposition  than  the  new  way  of  electing  the  Pope. 
The  magnitude  of  the  task  which  the  popes  had  undertaken 
first  became  fully  apparent  when  the  celebrated  Gregory  VII 
ascended  the  papal  throne,  in  1073. 

Section  75.    Powers  claimed  by  the  Popes 

The  Dirtatns       Among  the  writings  of  Gregory  VII  there  is  a  very  brief 
VII  statement,  called  the  Dictatiis,  of  the  powers  which  he  believed 

the  popes  to  possess.  Its  chief  claims  are  the  following:  The 
Pope  enjoys  a  unique  title ;  he  is  the  only  universal  bishop  and 
may  depose  and  reinstate  other  bishops  or  transfer  them  from 
place  to  place.  No  council  of  the  Church  may  be  regarded  as 
speaking  for  Christendom  without  his  consent.  The  Roman 
Church  has  never  erred,  nor  will  it  err  to  all  eternity.  No  one 
may  be  considered  a  Catholic  Christian  who  does  not  agree 
with  the  Roman  Church.  No  book  is  authoritative  unless  it  has 
received  the  papal  sanction. 

Gregory  does  not  stop  with  asserting  the  Pope's  complete 

supremacy  over  the  Church.     He  says  that  "  the  Pope  is  the 

only  person  whose  feet  are  kissed  by  all  princes  "  ;  that  he  may 

depose  emperors  and  "  absolve  subjects  from  allegiance  to  an 

unjust  ruler."     No  one  shall  dare  to  condemn  one  who  appeals 

to  the  Pope.    No  one  may  annul  a  decree  of  the  Pope,  though 

the  Pope  may  declare  null  and  void  the  decrees  of  all  other 

earthly  powers ;  and  no  one  may  pass  judgment  upon  his  acts. 

Gregory  VII         Immediately  upon  his  election  as  Pope,  Gregory  began  to 

ries  of 'the  ^°    P^^;  into  practice  his  high  conception  of  the  role  that  the  reli- 

mto^'  facdce     S'^*^"^  \\e.did  of  Christendom  should  play.    He  dispatched  legates 

throughout  Europe,  and  from  this  time  on  these  legates  became 

a  powerful  instrument  of  the  Church's  government.    He  warned 

the  kings  of  France  and  England  and  the  youthful  German 

ruler,  Henry  IV,  to  forsake  their  evil  ways,  to  be  upright  and 


Popes  and  Emperors  44^ 

just,  and  to  obey  his  admonitions.  He  explained,  kindly  but 
firmly,  to  William  the  Conqueror  that  the  papal  and  kingly  pow- 
ers are  both  established  by  God  as  the  greatest  among  the 
authorities  of  the  world,  just  as  the  sun  and  moon  are  the 
greatest  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  But  the  papal  power  is  obvi- 
ously superior  to  the  kingly,  for  it  is  responsible  for  it ;  at  the 
Last  Day,  Gregory  would  have,  he  urged,  to  render  an  account 
of  the  king  as  one  of  the  flock  intrusted  to  his  care.  The 
king  of  France  was  warned  to  give  up  his  practice  of  simony, 
lest  he  be  excommunicated  and  his  subjects  freed  from  their 
oath  of  allegiance.  All  these  acts  of  Gregory  appear  to  have 
been  dictated  not  by  worldly  ambition  but  by  a  fervent  con- 
viction of  their  righteousness  and  of  his  heavy  responsibility 
toward  all  men. 


Section  yG.    Gregory  VII  and  Emperor  Henry  IV 

Obviously  Gregory's  plan  of  reform  included  all  the  states  of 
western  Europe,  but  conditions  were  such  that  the  most  strik- 
ing conflict  took  place  between  him  and  the  Emperor.  The 
trouble  came  about  in  this  way.  Henry  IV 's  father  had  died 
in  1056,  leaving  only  his  good  wife  Agnes  and  their  little  son 
of  six  years  to  maintain  the  hard-fought  prerogatives  of  the 
German  king  in  the  midst  of  ambitious  vassals,  whom  even 
the  strong  Otto  the  Great  had  found  it  difficult  to  control. 

In  1065  the  fifteen-year-old  lad,  Henry  IV,  was  declared  of   Accession  of 
age,  and  his  lifelong  difficulties  began  with  a  great  rebellion  of    1065.  Trouble 
the  Saxons.    They  accused  the  young  king  of  having  built  castles  ^^'^^  ^^^  ^^P^ 
in  their  land  and  of  filling  them  with  rough  soldiers  who  preyed 
upon  the  people.    Pope  Gregory  felt  it  his  duty  to  interfere. 
To  him  the  Saxons  appeared  a  people  oppressed  by  a  heedless 
youth  guided  by  evil  counselors.    But  Henry  continued  to  asso- 
ciate with  counselors  whom  the  Pope  had  excommunicated  and 
went  on   filling    important  bishoprics    in  Germany   and   Italy, 
regardless  of  the   Pope's  prohibitions. 


448 


Outlines  of  European  History 


New  prohibi- 
tion of  lay  in- 
vestiture 


Henry  IV 
angered  by 
the  language 
of  the  papal 
legates 


Gregory  VII 
deposed  by 
a  council  of 
German 
bishops  at 
Worms,  1076 


The  popes  who  immediately  preceded  Gregory  had  more  than 
once  forbidden  the  churchmen  to  receive  investiture  from  laymen. 
Gregory  reissued  this  prohibition  in  1075,  just  as  the  trouble 
with  Henry  had  begun.  Investiture  was,  as  we  have  seen  (see 
above,  p.  441),  the  legal  transfer  by  the  king  or  other  lord,  to 
a  newly  chosen  church  official,  of  the  lands  and  rights  attached 
to  the  office.  In  forbidding  lay  investiture  Gregory  attempted 
nothing  less  than  a  revolution.  The  bishops  and  abbots  were 
often  officers  of  government,  exercising  in  Germany  and  Italy 
powers  similar  in  all  respects  to  those  of  the  counts.  The  king 
not  only  relied  upon  them  for  advice  and  assistance  in  carrying 
on  his  government,  but  they  were  among  his  chief  allies  in  his 
constant  struggles  with  his  vassals. 

Gregory  dispatched  three  envoys  to  Henry  (end  of  1075) 
with  a  fatherly  letter  ^  in  which  he  reproached  the  king  for  his 
wicked  conduct.  But  he  evidently  had  little  expectation  that 
mere  expostulation  would  have  any  effect  upon  Henry,  for  he 
gave  his  legates  instructions  to  use  threats  if  necessar}^  The 
legates  were  to  tell  the  king  that  his  crimes  were  so  numer- 
ous, so  horrible,  and  so  well  known,  that  he  merited  not  only 
excommunication  but  the  permanent  loss  of  all  his  royal  honors. 

The  violence  of  the  legates'  language  not  only  kindled  the 
wrath  of  the  king  but  also  gained  for  him  friends  among  the 
bishops.  A  council  which  Henry  summoned  at  Worms  (in 
1076)  was  attended  by  more  than  two  thirds  of  all  the  Ger- 
man bishops.  Here  Gregory  was  declared  deposed,  and  many  ter- 
rible charges  of  immorality  were  brought  against  him.  The  bishops 
publicly  proclaimed  that  he  had  ceased  to  be  their  Pope.  It  ap- 
pears very  surprising,  at  first  sight,  that  the  king  should  have 
received  the  prompt  support  of  the  German  churchmen  against 
the  head  of  the  Church.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
prelates  really  owed  their  offices  to  the  king  and  not  to  the  Pope. 

Gregory's  reply  to  Henry  and  the  German  bishops  who  had 
deposed  him  was  speedy  and  decisive.    "  Incline  thine  ear  to 

1  To  be  found  in  the  Readings^  chap.  xiii. 


Popes  and  Emperors  449 

us,  O  Peter,  chief  of  the  Apostles.    As  thy  representative  and   Henry  iv 
by  thy  favor   has   the   power  been  granted   especially  to  me   excommmii- 
by  God  of  binding  and  loosing  in  heaven  and  earth.    On  the   ^p^^^  ^^  *^^ 
strength  of  this,  for  the  honor  and  glory  of  thy  Church,  in  the 
name  of  Almighty  God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  I  with- 
draw, through  thy  power  and  authority,  from  Henry  the  King, 
son  of  Henry  the  Emperor,  who  has  risen  against  thy  Church 
with  unheard-of  insolence,  the  rule  over  the  whole  kingdom  of 
the  Germans  and  over  Italy.    I  absolve  all  Christians  from  the 
bonds  of  the  oath  which  they  have  sworn,  or  may  swear,  to 
him  ;  and  I  forbid  anyone  to  serve  him  as  king."  ^ 

For  a  time  after  the  Pope  had  deposed  him  everything  went  Attitude  of 
against  Henry.  Instead  of  resenting  the  Pope's  interference,  princes 
the  discontented  Saxons,  and  many  other  of  Henry's  vassals, 
believed  that  there  was  now  an  excellent  opportunity  to  get  rid 
of  Henry  and  choose  a  more  agreeable  ruler.  The  Pope  was 
even  invited  to  come  to  Augsburg  to  consult  with  the  princes 
as  to  whether  Henry  should  continue  to  be  king  or  another 
ruler  should  be  chosen  in  his  stead.  It  looked  as  if  the  Pope 
was,  in  truth,  to  control  the  civil  government. 

Henry  decided  to  anticipate  the  arrival  of  the  Pope.    He   Henry  sub- 
hastened   across   the  Alps  in  midwinter  and   appeared  as  an   Pope  at  Ca- 
humble  suppliant  before  the  castle  of  Canossa,^  whither  the  "<^^^^'  ^°77 
pope  had  come  on  his  way  to  Augsburg.    For  three  days  the 
German  king  presented  himself  before  the  closed  door,  barefoot 
and  in  the  coarse  garments  of  a  pilgrim  and  a  penitent,  and  even 
then  Gregory  was  induced  only  by  the  expostulations  of  his  influ- 
ential companions  to  admit  the  humiliated  ruler.    The  spectacle 
of  this  mighty  prince  of  distinguished  appearance,  humiliated 
and  in  tears  before  the  little  man  who  humbly  styled  himself  the 

1  Gregory's  deposition  and  excommunication  of  Henry  may  be  found  in  the 
Readings,  chap.  xiii.  * 

2  The  castle  of  Canossa  belonged  to  Gregory  VII's  ally  and  admirer,  the 
Countess  of  Tuscany.  It  was  destroyed  by  the  neighboring  town  of  Reggio  about 
two  centuries  after  Gregory's  time,  and  only  the  ivy-clad  ruins,  represented  in  the 
headpiece  of  this  chapter,  remain. 


450 


Outlines  of  E7iivpca}i  History 


A  new  king 
chosen 


Henry  again 
excommuni- 
cated 


Henry 

triumphs  over 
Gregory 


Death  of 
Gregory 


Henry  IV's 

further 

troubles 


"  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,"  has  ahvays  been  regarded 
as  most  completely  typifying  the  power  of  the  Church  and  the 
potency  of  her  curses,  against  which  even  the  most  exalted  of 
the  earth  found  no  weapon  of  defense  except  abject  penitence.^ 

The  pardon  which  Henry  received  at  Canossa  did  not  satisfy 
the  German  princes.  They  therefore  proceeded  to  elect  another 
ruler,  and  the  next  three  or  four  years  was  a  period  of  bloody 
struggles  between  the  adherents  of  the  rival  kings.  Gregory 
remained  neutral  until  1080,  when  he  again  "bound  with  the 
chain  of  anathema ''  Henry,  "  the  so-called  king,"  and  all  his 
followers.  He  declared  him  deprived  of  his  royal  power  and 
dignity  and  forbade  all  Christians  to  obey  him. 

The  new  excommunication  had  precisely  the  opposite  effect 
to  the  first  one ;  it  seemed  to  increase  rather  than  decrease 
Henry's  friends.  The  German  clergy^  again  deposed  Gregory 
VH.  Henry's  rival  for  the  throne  fell  in  battle,  and  Henry  be- 
took himself  to  Italy  with  the  double  purpose  of  installing  a  Pope 
of  his  own  choice  and  winning  the  imperial  crown.  Gregory 
held  out  for  no  less  than  two  years ;  but  at  last  Rome  fell  into 
Henry's  hands,  and  Gregory  withdrew  and  soon  after  died.  His 
last  words  were,  "  I  have  loved  justice  and  hated  iniquity,  there- 
fore 1  die  an  exile,"  and  the  fair-minded  historical  student  will 
not  question  their  truth. 

The  death  of  Gregory  did  not,  however,  put  an  end  to  Henr)-''s 
difficulties.  He  spent  the  remaining  twenty  years  of  his  life  in 
trying  to  maintain  his  rights  as  king  of  Germany  and  Italy 
against  his  rebellious  subjects  on  both  sides  of  the  Alps.  In 
Germany  his  chief  enemies  were  the  Saxons  and  his  discon- 
tented vassals.  In  Italy  the  Pope  was  now  actively  engaged 
as  a  temporal  ruler,  in  building  up  a  little  state  of  his  own,  and 
he  was  always  ready  to  encourage  the  Lombard  cities  in  their 
opposition  to  the  German  emperors. 

All  his  life  long  Henry  was  turning  from  one  enemy  to 
another.    Finally,  his  discontented  German  vassals  induced  his 

1  For  Gregor>''s  own  account  of  the  affair  at  Canossa,  see  Readings,  chap.  xiii. 


Popes  and  Emperors 


451 


son,    vvhom  he  had  had  crowned  as   his   successor,   to   revolt   Death  of 
against  his  father.    Thereupon  followed  more  civil  war,  more    fio"*^^  ^^ 
treason,  and  a  miserable  abdication.    In  1106  death  put  an  end 
to  perhaps  the  saddest  reign  that  history  records. 

The  achievement  of  the  reign  of  Henry  IV's  son,  Henry  V,    Henry  v 
which  chiefly  interests  us  was  the  adjustment  of  the  question  of 
investitures.    Pope  Paschal  II,  while  willing  to  recognize  those 
bishops  already  chosen  by  the  king,  provided  they  were  good 


[06- 


125 


Fig.  168.    Medieval  Pictures  of  Gregory  VII 

These  pictures  are  taken  from  an  illustrated  manuscript  written  some 
decades  after  Gregory's  death.  In  the  one  on  the  left  Gregory  is  rep- 
resented blowing  out  a  candle  and  saying  to  his  cardinals,  "As  I  blow  out 
this  light,  so  will  Henry  IV  be  extinguished."  In  the  one  on  the  right 
is  shown  the  death  of  Gregory  (1085).  He  did  not  wear  his  crown  in  bed, 
but  the  artist  wanted  us  to  be  sure  to  recognize  that  he  was  Pope 


men,  proposed  that  thereafter  Gregory's  decrees  against  inves- 
titure by  laymen  should  be  carried  out.  The  clergy  should  no 
longer  do  homage  by  laying  their  hands,  consecrated  to  the 
service  of  the  altar,  in  the  bloodstained  hands  of  the  nobles. 
Henry  V,  on  the  other  hand,  declared  that  unless  the  clergy 
took  the  oath  of  fealty  the  bishops  would  not  be  given  the  lands, 
towns,  castles,  tolls,  and  privileges  attached  to  the  bishoprics. 

After  a  succession  of  troubles   a  compromise  was  at  last 
reached  in  the  Concordat  of  Worms  (1122),  which  put  an  end 


452 


Outlines  of  European  History 


to  the  controversy  over  investitures  in  Germany.^  The  Emperor 
promised  to  permit  the  Church  freely  to  elect  the  bishops  and 
abbots  and  renounced  his  old  claim  to  invest  with  the  religious 
emblems  of  the  ring  and  the  crosier.  But  the  elections  were  to 
be  held  in  the  presence  of  the  king,  and  he  was  permitted,  in  a 
separate  ceremony,  to  invest  the  new  bishop  or  abbot  with  his 
fiefs  and  his  governmental  powers  by  a  touch  of  the  scepter. 
In  this  way  the  religious  powers  of  the  bishops  were  obviously 
conferred  by  the  churchmen  who  elected  them  ;  and  although  the 
king  might  still  practically  invalidate  an  election  by  refusing  to 
hand  over  the  lands,  nevertheless  the  direct  appointment  of  the 
bishops  and  abbots  was  taken  out  of  his  hands.  As  for  the  Em- 
peror's control  over  the  papacy,  too  many  popes,  since  the  advent 
of  Henr}^  IV,  had  been  generally  recognized  as  properly  elected 
without  the  sanction  of  the  Emperor,  for  any  one  to  believe  any 
longer  that  his  sanction  was  necessary. 


Section  JJ .    The  Hohenstaufen  Emperors  and 
THE  Popes 

A  generation  after  the  matter  of  investitures  had  been  arranged 
by  the  Concordat  of  Worms  the  most  famous  of  German  em- 
perors, next  to  Charlemagne,  came  to  the  throne.  This  was 
Frederick  I,  commonly  called  Barbarossa,  from  his  red  beard.  He 
belonged  to  the  family  of  Hohenstaufen,  so  called  from  their  castle 
in  southern  Germany.  Frederick's  ambition  was  to  restore  the 
Roman  Empire  to  its  old  glory  and  influence.  He  regarded  him- 
self as  the  successor  of  the  Caesars,  as  well  as  of  Charlemagne  and 
Otto  the  Great.  He  believed  his  office  to  be  quite  as  truly  estab- 
lished by  God  himself  as  the  papacy.  When  he  informed  the  Pope 
that  he  had  been  recognized  as  Emperor  by  the  German  nobles, 
he  too  took  occasion  to  state  quite  clearly  that  the  headship  of 
"the  Empire  had  been  "  bestowed  upon  him  by  God,"  and  he 
did  not  ask  the  Pope's  sanction  as  his  predecessors  had  done. 

1  See  Readings^  chap.  xiii. 


Popes  and  Emperors 


45, 


In  his  lifelong  attempt  to  maintain  what  he  thought  to  be  his   Frederick's 
rights  as  Emperor  he  met,  quite  naturally,  with  the  three  old     '   duties 
difficulties.     He  had  constantly  to  be  fighting  his  rivals  and 
rebellious  vassals  in  Germany ;  he  had  to  face  the  opposition  of 
the  popes,  who  never  forgot  the  claims  that  Gregory  VII  had 
made  to  control  the  Emperor  as  well  as  other  rulers.     Lastly, 


Fig.  169.    Ruins  of  Barbarossa's  Palace  at  Gelnhausen 

Frederick  Barbarossa  erected  a  handsome  palace  at  Gelnhausen  (not  far 

east  of  Frankfort).    It  was  destroyed  by  the  Swedes  during  the  Thirty 

Years'  War  (see  below,  section  113),  but  even  what  now -remains  is 

imposing,  especially  the  arcade  represented  in  the  picture 


in  trying  to  keep  hold  of  northern  Italy,  which  he  believed  to 
belong  to  his  empire,  he  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  with  but 
slight  results. 

One  of  the  greatest  differences  between  the  early  Middle  Ages    importance 
and  Frederick's  time  was  the  development  of  town  life.    Up  to  jn  human 
this  period  we  have  heard  only  of  popes,  emperors,  kings,  bishops.   Progress 
and  feudal  lords.    From  now  on  we  shall  have  to  take  the  towns 
and  their  citizens  into  account.    No  nation  makes  much  progress 


454 


Oiitlhics  of  Ruropcan  History 


without  towns  ;  for  only  when  people  get  together  in  considerable 
numbers  do  they  begin  to  build  fine  buildings,  establish  univer- 
sities and  libraries,  make  inventions  and  carry  on  trade,  which 
brings  them  into  contact  with  other  people  in  their  own  country 
and  in  foreign  lands.    (See  below,  Chapter  XXI,  for  town  life.) 


S''     '.  \i^-        Tito       V         ^  '•12  !  ■• 14 


Italian  Towns  in  the  Twelfth  Century 

The  towns  had  never  decayed  altogether  in  Italy,  and  by  the 
time  of  Frederick  Barbarossa  they  had  begun  to  flourish  once 
more,  especially  in  Lombardy.  Such  towns  as  Milan,  Verona, 
and  Cremona  were  practically  independent  states.  Their  govern- 
ment was  in  the  hands  of  the  richer  citizens,  and  the  poorer 
people  were  not  given  any  voice  in  city  affairs.     Compared  with 


o  ^  ^    ^ 

z  -^  ^  -^ 

o  3  .  a. 

•-    ,,    ^^    c  c    c 

W     03  CO  J>^-2     O 

^^     «    H;  I-  t«    -t::; 

-a    o  :;:    -  c  c    c 

^  >ii  ^  -o  c  ^   ^ 

rt    <u  ?  <i^    o 

g  ^  c«  2  1^  -  ;£ 

5  -t^  •'"   o  -Q  VM  ':;5 

°    "  -73    ^  =«  °     - 

5  .5  -S  o  ^  c  f- 

(u  •£  ;5  c  c  - 

6  I  2  I  §  --S 

!>     O     <U   I— I  °J3  x     ^ 

o    C         o  ^ 

U    I-*    P  t:'  fe 

5    o    £    rt  i- 

8  s  u  «  -^  ^ 

g    oj    c  -5    •  ^ 


tn    ■"     S_     .,     O 

^   b   ^  +2  w 


illj: 


^    ^   ^    o  ^ 

•„—     ID     C     ^    !_,    t_, 

— H    o    r3    o  r^  tr' 


455 


456 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Hohen- 
staufens 
extend  their 
claims  to 
southern 
Italy 


Frederick  II 
and  Innocent 
III 


a  modern  city  they  were  very  disorderly,  for  sometimes  the  poor 
revolted  against  the  rich,  and  often  the  nobles,  who  had  moved 
in  from  the  country  and  built  fortified  palaces  in  the  towns, 
fought  among  themselves.  And  then  the  various  towns  were 
always  fighting  one  another. 

But  in  spite  of  all  the  warfare  and  disorder,  the  Italian  cities 
became  wealthy  and,  as  we  shall  see  later,  were  centers  of 
learning  and  art  similar  to  the  ancient  cities  of  Greece,  such  as 
Athens  and  Corinth.  They  were  able  to  combine  in  a  union 
known  as  the  Lombard  League  to  oppose  Frederick,  for  they 
hated  the  idea  of  paying  taxes  to  a  German  king  from  across 
the  Alps.  Frederick  made  several  expeditions  to  Italy,  but  he 
only  succeeded,  after  a  vast  amount  of  trouble,  in  getting  them 
to  recognize  him  as  a  sort  of  overlord.  He  was  forced  to  leave 
them  to  manage  their  own  affairs  and  go  their  own  way.  They 
could,  of  course,  always  rely  upon  the  Pope  when  it  came  to 
fighting  the  Emperor,  for  he  was  quite  as  anxious  as  the  towns 
to  keep  Frederick  out  of  Italy. 

So  Frederick  failed  in  his  great  plans  for  restoring  the  Roman 
Empire ;  he  only  succeeded  in  adding  a  new  difficulty  for  his 
descendants.  In  spite  of  his  lack  of  success  in  conquering  the 
Lombard  cities,  Frederick  tried  to  secure  southern  Italy  for  his 
descendants.  He  arranged  that  his  son  should  marry  Constance, 
the  heiress  of  Naples  and  Sicily.  This  made  fresh  trouble  for 
the  Hohenstaufen  rulers,  because  the  Pope,  as  feudal  lord  of 
Naples  and  Sicily,  was  horrified  at  the  idea  of  the  Emperor's 
controlling  the  territory  to  the  south  of  the  papal  possessions 
as  well  as  that  to  the  north. 

After  some  forty  years  of  fighting  in  Germany  and  Italy 
Frederick  Barbarossa  decided  to  undertake  a  crusade  to  the 
Holy  Land,  and  lost  his  life  on  the  way  thither.  His  son  was 
carried  off  by  Italian  fever  while  trying  to  put  down  a  rebellion 
in  southern  Italy,  leaving  the  fate  of  the  Hohenstaufen  family 
in  the  hands  of  his  infant  son  and  heir,  the  famous  Frederick  II. 
It  would  take  much  too  long  to  try  to  tell  of  all  the  attempts  of 


Popes  and  Emperors  457 

rival  German  princes  to  get  themselves  made  king  of  Germany 
and  of  the  constant  interference  of  the  popes  who  sided  now 
with  this  one  and  now  with  that.  It  happened  that  one  of  the 
greatest  of  all  the  popes,  Innocent  III,  was  ruling  during  Fred- 
erick II's  early  years.  After  Xrj'mg  to  settle  the  terrible  disorder 
in  (Germany  he  decided  that  Frederick  should  be  made  Emperor, 
hoping  to  control  him  so  that  he  would  not  become  the  dan- 
gerous enemy  of  the  papacy  that  his  father  and  grandfather  had 
been.  As  a  young  man  Frederick  made  all  the  promises  that 
Innocent  demanded,  but  he  caused  later  popes  infinite  anxiety. 

Frederick  II  was  nearsighted,  bald,  and  wholly  insignificant   Character  of 
in  person  ;  but  he  exhibited  the  most  extraordinary  energy  and    Frederick  ii, 


I2I2-I2;o 


ability  in  the  organization  of  his  kingdom  of  Sicily,  in  which  he 
was  far  more  interested  than  in  Germany.  He  drew  up  an 
elaborate  code  of  laws  for  his  southern  realms  and  may  be  said 
to  have  founded  the  first  modem  well-regulated  state,  in  which 
the  king  was  indisputably  supreme.  He  had  been  brought  up 
in  Sicily  and  was  much  influenced  by  the  Mohammedan  culture 
which  prevailed  there.  He  appears  to  have  rejected  many  of  the 
opinions  of  the  time.  His  enemies  asserted  that  he  was  not 
even  a  Christian,  and  that  he  declared  that  Moses,  Christ,  and 
Mohammed  were  all  alike  impostors. 

We  cannot  stop  to  relate  the  romantic  and  absorbing  story  His  bitter 
of  his  long  struggle  with  the  popes.  They  speedily  discovered  the"papacy 
that  he  was  bent  upon  establishing  a  powerful  state  to  the  south 
of  them,  and  upon  extending  his  control  over  the  Lombard 
cities  in  such  a  manner  that  the  papal  possessions  would  be 
held  as  in  a  vise.  This,  they  felt,  must  never  be  permitted. 
Consequently  almost  every  measure  that  Frederick  adopted 
aroused  their  suspicion  and  opposition,  and  they  made  every 
effort  to  destroy  him  and  his  house. 

His  chance  of  success  in  the  conflict  with  the  head  of  the  Frederick 
Church  was  gravely  affected  by  the  promise  which  he  had  as  king  of 
made  before  Innocent  Ill's  death  to  undertake  a  crusade.  Jerusalem 
He  was  so  busily  engaged  with  his  endless  enterprises  that  he 


458 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Extinction  of 
the  Hohen- 
staufens' 
power 


Frederick's 
death  marks 
the  close  of 
the  medieval 
Empire 


Division  of 
Germany  and 
Italy  into 
small  inde- 
pendent 
states 


kept  deferring  the  expedition,  in  spite  of  the  papal  admoni- 
tions, until  at  last  the  Pope  lost  patience  and  excommunicated 
him.  While  excommunicated,  he  at  last  started  for  the  East. 
He  met  with  signal  success  and  actually  brought  Jerusalem,  the 
•Holy  City,  once  more  into  Christian  hands,  and  was  himself 
recognized  as  king  of  Jerusalem. 

Frederick's  conduct  continued,  however,  to  give  offense  to 
the  popes.  He  was  denounced  in  solemn  councils,  and  at  last 
deposed  by  one  of  the  popes.  After  Frederick  died  (1250) 
his  sons  maintained  themselves  for  a  few  years  in  the  Sicilian 
kingdom ;  but  they  finally  gave  way  before  a  French  army,  led 
by  the  brother  of  St.  Louis,  Charles  of  Anjou,  upon  whom  the 
Pope  bestowed  the  southern  realms  of  the  Hohenstaufens.^ 

With  Frederick's  death  the  medieval  Empire  may  be  said 
to  have  come  to  an  end.  It  is  true  that  after  a  period  of  "  fist 
law,"  as  the  Germans  call  it,  a  new  king,  Rudolf  of  Hapsburg, 
was  elected  in  Germany  in  1273.  The  German  kings  continued 
to  call  themselves  emperors.  Few  of  them,  however,  took  the 
trouble  to  go  to  Rome  to  be  crowned  by  the  Pope.  No  serious 
effort  was  ever  made  to  reconquer  the  Italian  territory  for 
which  Otto  the  Great,  Frederick  Barbarossa,  and  his  son  and 
grandson  had  made  such  serious  sacrifices.  Germany  was  hope- 
lessly divided  and  its  king  was  no  real  king.  He  had  no  capital 
and  no  well-organized  government. 

By  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  centur}^  it  becomes  apparent 
that  neither  Germany  nor  Italy  was  to  be  converted  into  a 
strong  single  kingdom  like  England  and  France.  The  map  of 
Germany  shows  a  confused  group  of  duchies,  counties,  arch- 
bishoprics, bishoprics,  abbacies,  and  free  towns,  each  one  of 
which  asserted  its  practical  independence  of  the  weak  king 
and  Emperor. 

In  northern  Italy  each  town,  including  a  certain  district  about 
its  walls,  had  become   an   independent  state,  dealing  with   its 


1  An  excellent  account  of  Frederick's  life  is  given  by  Henderson,  Germany  in 
the  Middle  Ages^  pp.  349-397. 


Popes  a7id  Emperors  459 

neighbors  as  with  independent  powers.  The  Italian  towns  were 
destined  to  become  the  birthplace  of  our  modern  culture  during 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries.  Venice  and  Florence,  in 
spite  of  their  small  size,  came  to  be  reckoned  among  the  most 
important  states  of  Europe  (see  section  90,  below).  In  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  peninsula  the  Pope  maintained  more  or  less 
control  over  his  possessions,  but  he  often  failed  to  subdue  the 
towns  within  his  realms.  To  the  south  Naples  remained  for  some 
time  under  the  French  dynasty,  which  the  Pope  had  called  in, 
while  the  island  of  Sicily  drifted  into  Spanish  hands. 

QUESTIONS 

Sectiox  73.  Describe  the  way  in  which  the  German  kings  gained 
the  title  of  Emperor.  Why  did  they  think  that  they  ought  to  control 
the  election  of  the  Pope?  What  do  you  understand  by  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire.? 

'  Section  74.  What  were  the  sources  of  wealth  of  the  Church  ? 
What  was  the  effect  of  the  vast  landholdings  of  the  Church  '^.  What 
was  investiture,  and  why  did  it  raise  difficulties  between  the  popes 
and  emperors?  Why  did  the  Pope  oppose  the  marriage  of  the 
clergy?    How  is  the  Pope  elected?    What  is  a  cardinal? 

Section  75.  What  was  the  Dictatjis,  and  what  claims  did  it  make  ? 

Section  76.  Describe  the  conflict  between  Henry  IV  and 
Ciregory  \\\.  What  were  the  provisions  of  the  Concordat  of 
Worms  ? 

Section  ']'].  What  new  enemies  did  Frederick  Barbarossa  find 
in  northern  Italy?  How  did  the  German  kings  establish  a  claim  to 
southern  Italy?  Give  some  facts  about  Innocent  HI.  Narrate  the 
struggle  between  Frederick  II  and  the  popes  and  its  outcome.  How 
many  years  elapsed  between  the  death  of  Otto  the  Great  and  the 
accession  of  Henry  IV?  between  the  death  of  Henry  IV  and  that 
of  Frederick  Barbarossa  ?  between  the  death  of  Barbarossa  and  that 
of  Frederick  1 1  ? 


^-^<S«-A 


S 


-:f.^.   |f.^ ^v— #^.     t  «^ 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  CRUSADES 

Section  78.    Origin  of  the  Crusades 

Of  all  the  events  of  the  Middle  Ages,  the  most  romantic 
and  fascinating  are  the  Crusades,  the  adventurous  expeditions 
to  Syria  and  Palestine,  undertaken  by  devout  and  warlike 
kings  and  knights  with  the  hope  of  permanently  reclaiming  the 
Holy  Land  from  the  infidel  Turks.  All  through  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries  each  generation  beheld  at  least  one  great 
army  of  crusaders  gathering  from  all  parts  of  the  West  and 
starting  toward  the  Orient.  Each  year  witnessed  the  departure 
of  small  bands  of  pilgrims  or  of  solitary  soldiers  of  the  cross. 

For  two  hundred  years  there  was  a  continuous  stream  of 
Europeans  of  every  rank  and  station  —  kings  and  princes, 
powerful  nobles,  simple  knights,  common  soldiers,  ecclesias- 
tics, monks,  townspeople,  and  even  peasants  —  from  England, 
France,  Germany,  Spain,  and  Italy,  making  their  way  into 
western  Asia.  If  they  escaped  the  countless  dangers  which 
beset  them  on  the  journey,  they  either  settled  in  this  distant  land 
and  devoted  themselves  to  war  or  commerce,  or  returned  home, 
bringing  with  them  tales  of  great  cities  and  new  peoples,  of  skill, 
knowledge,  and  luxury  unknown  in  the  West. 

460 


TJie  Crusades  461 

Our  sources  of  information  in  regard  to  the  Crusades  are   Natural 
so  abundant  and  so  rich  in  picturesque  incidents  that  writers   to'overrate 
have  often  yielded  to  the  temptation  to  give  more  space  to   ^^^  impor- 
these  expeditions  than  their  consequences  really  justify.    They   Crusades 
were,  after  all,  only  one  of  the  great  foreign  enterprises  which 
have  been   undertaken   from  time   to   time  by   the   European 
peoples.   While  their  influence  upon  the  European  countries  was 
doubtless    very   important,  —  like   that    of   the    later  conquest 
of  India  by  the  English  and  the  colonization  of  America,  —  the 
details  of  the  campaigns  in   the  East  scarcely  belong  to   the 
history  of  western  Europe. 

Syria  had  been  overrun  by  the  Arabs  in  the  seventh  century,   The  Holy 
shortly  after  the  death  of  Mohammed,  and  the  Holy  City  of  JuTrtdTrst 
Jerusalem  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  infidels.    The  Arab,   by  the  Arabs 

•'  and  then  by 

however,  shared  the  veneration  of  the  Christian  for  the  places   the  Turks 
associated  with  the  life  of  Christ  and,  in  general,  permitted  the     ■ 
Christian  pilgrims  who  found  their  way  thither  to  worship  un- 
molested.   But  with  the  coming  of-  a  new  and  ruder  people,  the 
Seljuk  Turks,  in  the  eleventh  century,  the  pilgrims  began  to 
bring  home  news  of  great  hardships.    Moreover,  the  eastern 
Emperor  was  defeated  by  the  Turks  in   107 1   and  lost  Asia 
Minor.    The  presence  of  the  Turks,  who  had  taken  possession 
of  the  fortress  of  Nicaea,  just  across  from  Constantinople,  was 
of  course  a  standing  menace  to  the  Eastern  Empire.   When  the 
energetic  Emperor  Alexius  (1081-1118)  ascended  the  throne 
he  endeavored  to  expel  the  infidel.    Finding  himself  unequal  to   Eastern 
the  task,  he  appealed  for  assistance  to  the  head  of  Christendom,   appealTto 
Pope  Urban  IL    The  first  great  impetus  to  the  Crusades  was   g^j^^^nst^"^ 
the  call  issued  by  Urban  at  the  celebrated  church  council  which   the  infidel 

U,  ■  Turks 

met  m  1095  at  Clermont  in  France. 

In  an  address  which  produced  more  remarkable  immediate 
results  than  any  other  which  history  records,  the  Pope  exhorted 
knights  and  soldiers  of  all  ranks  to  give  up  their  usual  wicked 
business  of  destroying  their  Christian  brethren  in  private 
warfare  (see  above,  section  67)  and  turn,  instead,  to  the  succor 


462  Outlines  of  EuropcaJi  History 

Urban  II  of  their  fellow  Christians  in  the  East.  He  warned  them  that  the 
call  to  the  insolent  Turks  would,  if  unchecked,  extend  their  sway  still  more 
^t\?  Coun^n  ^^'^^^^y  ^^^^  t^^  faithful  servants  of  the  Lord.  Urban  urged,  be- 
of  Clermont,  sides,  that  France  was  too  poor  to  support  all  its  people,  while 
the  Holy  Land  flowed  with  milk  and  honey.  "  Enter  upon  the 
road  to  the  Holy  Sepulcher;  wrest  the  land  from  the  wicked 
race  and  subject  it  to  yourselves."  When  the  Pope  had  finished, 
all  who  were  present  exclaimed,  with  one  accord,  "  It  is  the  will 
of  God."  This,  the  Pope  declared,  should  be  the  rallying  cry  of 
the  crusaders,  who  were  to  wear  a  cross  upon  their  bosoms  as 
they  went  forth,  and  upon  their  backs  as  they  returned,  as  a 
holy  sign  of  their  sacred  mission.-^ 
The  motives  The  Crusades  are  ordinarily  represented  as  the  most  striking 
crusaders  examples  of  the  simple  faith  and  religious  enthusiasm  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  They  appealed,  however,  to  many  different  kinds 
of  men.  The  devout,  the  romantic,  and  the  adventurous  were 
by  no  means  the  only  classes  that  were  attracted.  Syria  held 
out  inducements  to  the  discontented  noble  who  might  hope  to 
gain  a  principality  in  the  East,  to  the  merchant  who  was  look- 
ing for  new  enterprises,  to  the  merely  restless  who  wished  to 
avoid  his  responsibilities  at  home,  and  even  to  the  criminal  who 
enlisted  with  a  view  of  escaping  the  results  of  his  past  offenses. 
It  is  noteworthy  that  Urban  appeals  especially  to  those  who 
had  been  "  contending  against  their  brethren  and  relatives,"  and 
urges  those  "  who  have  hitherto  been  robbers  now  to  become 
soldiers  of  Christ."  And  the  conduct  of  many  of  the  crusaders 
indicates  that  the  Pope  found  a  ready  hearing  among  this  class. 
Yet  higher  motives  than  a  love  of  adventure  and  the  hope  of 
conquest  impelled  many  who  took  their  way  eastward.  Great 
numbers,  doubtless,  went  to  Jerusalem  "  through  devotion  alone, 
and  not  for  the  sake  of  honor  or  gain,"  with  the  sole  object  of 
freeing  the  Holy  Sepulcher  from  the  hands  of  the  infidel. 

To  such  as  these  the  Pope  promised  that  the  journey  itself 
should  take  the   place  of   all   penance  for   sin.    The   faithful 

1  For  the  speech  of  Urban,  see  Readings,  chap,  xv. 


TJie  Crusades  463 

crusader,  like  the  faithful  Mohammedan,  was  assured  of  immedi-  Privileges 
ate  entrance  into  heaven  if  he  died  repentant.  Later,  the  Church  crusaders 
exhibited  its  extraordinary  authority  by  what  would  seem  to  us 
an  unjust  interference  with  business  contracts.  It  freed  those 
who  "  with  a  pure  heart "  entered  upon  the  journey  from  the 
payment  of  interest  upon  their  debts,  and  permitted  them  to 
mortgage  property  against  the  wishes  of  their  feudal  lords. 
The  crusaders'  wives  and  children  and  property  were  taken 
under  the  immediate  protection  of  the  Church,  and  he  who 
troubled  them  incurred  excommunication.  These  various  con- 
siderations help  to  explain  the  great  popularity  of  undertakings 
that,  at  first  sight,  would  seem  to  have  promised  only  hardships 
and  disappointment. 

The  Council  of  Clermont  met  in  November.  Before  spring  Peter  the 
(1096)  those  who  set  forth  to  preach  the  Crusade,  —  above  all,  hisarmy^" 
the  famous  Peter  the  Hermit,  who  was  formerly  given  credit 
for  having  begun  the  whole  crusading  movement,  —  had  col- 
lected, in  France  and  along  the  Rhine,  an  extraordinary  army 
of  the  common  folk.  Peasants,  workmen,  vagabonds,  and  even 
women  and  children  answered  the  summons,  all  blindly  intent 
upon  rescuing  the  Holy  Sepulcher,  two  thousand  miles  away. 
They  were  confident  that  the  Lord  would  sustain  them  during 
the  weary  leagues  of  the  journey,  and  that,  when  they  reached 
the  Holy  Land,  he  would  grant  them  a  prompt  victory  over  the 
infidel. 

This  great  host  was  got  under  way  in  several  divisions  under 
the  leadership  of  Peter  the  Hermit,  and  of  Walter  the  Penni- 
less and  other  humble  knights.  Many  of  the  crusaders  were 
slaughtered  by  the  Hungarians,  who  rose  to  protect  them- 
selves from  the  depredations  of  this  motley  horde  in  its  passage 
through  their  country.  Part  of  them  got  as  far  as  Nicaea,  only 
to  be  slaughtered  by  the  Turks.  This  is  but  an  example,  on 
a  large  scale,  of  what  was  going  on  continually  for  a  century 
or  so  after  this  first  great  catastrophe.  Individual  pilgrims  and 
adventurers,  and  sometimes  considerable  bodies  of  crusaders, 


464 


Outlines  of  European  History 


were  constantly  falling  a  prey  to  every  form  of  disaster  — 
starvation,  slavery,  disease,  and  death  —  in  their  persistent 
endeavors  to  reach  the  far-away  Holy  Land. 


The  First 

Crusade, 

1096 


Hostilities 
between  the 
Greeks  and 
the  crusaders 


Section  79.    The  First  Crusade 

The  most  conspicuous  figures  of  the  long  period  of  the 
Crusades  are  not,  however,  to  be  found  among  the  lowly  fol- 
lowers of  Peter  the  Hermit,  but  are  the  knights,  in  their  long 
coats  of  flexible  armor.  A  year  after  the  summons  issued  at 
Clermont  great  armies  of  fighting  men  had  been  collected  in 
the  West  under  distinguished  leaders  —  the  Pope  speaks  of 
three  hundred  thousand  soldiers.  Of  the  various  divisions  which 
were  to  meet  in  Constantinople,  the  following  were  the  most 
important :  the  volunteers  from  Provence  under  the  papal 
legate  and  Count  Raymond  of  Toulouse ;  inhabitants  of  Ger- 
many, particularly  of  Lorraine,  under  Godfrey  of  Bouillon  and 
his  brother  Baldwin,  both  destined  to  be  rulers  of  Jerusalem ; 
and  lastly,  an  army  of  French  and  of  the  Normans  of  southern 
Italy  under  Bohemond  and  Tancred.-^ 

The  distinguished  noblemen  who  have  been  mentioned  were 
not  actually  in  command  of  real  armies.  Each  crusader  under- 
took the  expedition  on  his  own  account  and  was  only  obedient 
to  any  one's  orders  so  long  as  he  pleased.  The  knights  and 
men  naturally  grouped  themselves  around  the  more  noted  lead- 
ers, but  considered  themselves  free  to  change  chiefs  when  they 
pleased.  The  leaders  themselves  reserved  the  right  to  look  out 
for  their  own  special  interests  rather  than  sacrifice  themselves 
to  the  good  of  the  expedition. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  crusaders  at  Constantinople  it  quickly 
became  clear  that  they  had  not  much  more  in  common  with  the 
"  Greeks  "  '^  than  with  the  Turks.     Emperor  Alexius  ordered 

1  For  the  routes  taken  by  the  different  crusading  armies,  see  the  accompanying 
map. 

2  The  people  of  the  Eastern  Empire  were  called  Greeks  because  the 
Greek  language  continued  to  be  used  in  Constantinople. 


TfiflFac  i       ""i^.M  (Fdk.  Barharossa ——-—- 


[P/tilip  Augustus. 

0  no         iix)  ioo 


The  Crusades 


465 


his  soldiers  to  attack  Godfrey's  army,  encamped  in  the  suburbs 
of  his  capital,  because  their  chief  at  first  refused  to  take  the 
oath  of  feudal  homage  to  him.  The  Emperor's  daughter  Anna, 
in  her  history  of  the  times,  gives  a  sad  picture  of  the  outrageous 
conduct  of  the  crusaders.  They,  on 
the  other  hand,  denounced  the 
Greeks  as  traitors,  cowards,  and  liars. 

The  eastern  Emperor  had  hoped 
to  use  his  western  allies  to  reconquer 
Asia  Minor  and  force  back  the 
Turks.  The  leading  knights,  on  the 
contrary,  dreamed  of  carving  out 
principalities  for  themselves  in  the 
fonner  dominions  of  the  Emperor, 
and  proposed  to  control  them  by 
right  of  conquest.  Later  we  find 
both  Greeks  and  western  Christians 
shamelessly  allying  themselves  with 
the  Mohammedans  against  each 
other.  The  relations  of  the  eastern 
and  western  enemies  of  the  Turks 
were  well  illustrated  when  the  cru- 
saders besieged  their  first  town, 
Nicaea.  When  it  was  just  ready  to 
surrender,  the  Greeks  arranged  with 
the  enemy  to  have  their  troops  ad- 
mitted first.  They  then  closed  the 
gates  against  their  western  confeder- 
ates and  invited  them  to  move  on. 

The  first  real  allies  that  the  crusaders  met  with  were  the 
Christian  Armenians,  who  gave  them  aid  after  their  terrible 
march  through  Asia  Minor.  With  their  help  Baldwin  got 
possession  of  Edessa,  of  which  he  made  himself  prince.  The 
chiefs  induced  the  great  body  of  the  crusaders  to  postpone 
the  march  on  Jerusalem,  and  a  year  was  spent  in  taking  the 


171.   Knight  of  the 
First  Crusade 

In  the  time  of  the  Crusades 
knights  wore  a  coat  of  inter- 
woven iron  rings,  called  a 
hauberk,  to  protect  them- 
selves. The  habit  of  using  the 
rigid  iron  plates,  of  which 
later  armor  was  constructed, 
did  not  come  in  until  the 
Crusades  were  over 


Dissension 
among  the 
leaders  of  the 
crusaders 


466 


Ontli7tcs  of  European  History 


rich  and  important  city  of  Antioch.  A  bitter  strife  then  broke 
out,  especially  between  the  Norman  Bohemond  and  the  count 
of  Toulouse,  as  to  who  should  have  the  conquered  town.  After 
the   most   unworthy  conduct  on   both   sides,   Bohemond  won, 

and  Raymond 
was  forced  to  set 
to  work  to  con- 
quer another  prin- 
cipality for  himself 
on  the  coast  about 
Tripoli. 

In  the  spring 
of  1099  about 
twenty  thousand 
warriors  were  at 
last  able  to  move 
upon  Jerusalem. 
They  found  the 
city  well  walled, 
in  the  midst  of 
a  desolate  region 
where  neither 
food  nor  water 
nor  the  materials 
to  construct  the 
apparatus  neces- 
sary for  the  cap- 
ture of  the  town 
were  to  be  found. 
However,  the  opportune  arrival  at  Jaffa  of  galleys  from  Genoa 
furnished  the  besiegers  with  supplies,  and,  in  spite  of  all  the 
difficulties,  the  place  was  taken  in  a  couple  of  months.  The 
crusaders,  with  shocking  barbarity,  massacred  the  inhabitants. 
Godfrey  of  Bouillon  was  chosen  ruler  of  Jerusalem  and  took 
the  modest  title  of  "  Defender  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher."    He  soon 


Map  of  the  Crusaders'  States  in  Syria 


TJie  Crusades  467 

died  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Baldwin,  who  left  Edessa 
in  1 100  to  take  up  the  task  of  extending  the  bounds  of  the 
kingdom  of  Jerusalem. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  "  Franks,"  as  the  Mohammedans  Founding 
called  all  the  western  folk,  had  established  the  centers  of  four  domf i'n  SntE 
principalities.  These  were  Edessa,  Antioch,  the  region  about 
Tripoli  conquered  by  Raymond,  and  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem. 
The  last  was  speedily  increased  by  Baldwin ;  with  the  help  of 
the  mariners  from  Venice  and  Genoa,  he  succeeded  in  getting 
possession  of  Acre,  Sidon,  and  a  number  of  other  less  impor- 
tant coast  towns. 

The  news  of  these  Christian  victories  quickly  reached  the 
West,  and  in  1 1  o  i  tens  of  thousands  of  new  crusaders  started 
eastward.  Most  of  them  were  lost  or  dispersed  in  passing 
through  Asia  Minor,  and  few  reached  their  destination.  The 
original  conquerors  were  consequently  left  to  hold  the  land 
against  the  Saracens  and  to  organize  their  conquests  as  best 
they  could.  This  was  a  very  difficult  task  —  too  difficult  to 
accomplish  under  the  circumstances. 

The  permanent  hold  of  the  Franks  upon  the  eastern  bor- 
ders of  the  Mediterranean  depended  upon  the  strength  of  the 
colonies  which  their  various  princes  were  able  to  establish.  It 
is  impossible  to  learn  how  many  pilgrims  from  the  West  made 
their  permanent  homes  in  the  new  Latin  principalities.  Cer- 
tainly the  greater  part  of  those  who  visited  Palestine  returned 
home  after  fulfilling  the  vow  they  had  made  —  to  kneel  at  the 
Holy  Sepulcher. 

Still  the  princes  could  rely  upon  a  certain  number  of  soldiers 
who  would  be  willing  to  stay  and  fight  the  Mohammedans. 
The  Turks,  moreover,  were  so  busy  fighting  one  another  that 
they  showed  less  energy  than  might  have  been  expected  in 
attempting  to  drive  the  Franks  from  the  narrow  strip  of  terri- 
tory —  some  five  hundred  miles  long  and  fifty  wide  —  which 
they  had  conquered.  The  map  on  the  opposite  page  shows 
the  extent  and  situation  of  the  crusaders'  states. 


468 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Military  reli- 
gious orders 


Section  8o.    The  Religious  Orders  of  the 
Hospitalers  and  Templars 

A  noteworthy  outcome  of  the  crusading  movement  was 
the  foundation  of  several  curious  orders,  of  which  the  Hospi- 
talers and  the  Templars  were  the  most  important.    These  orders 

combined  the  two  dominant  inter- 
ests of  the  time,  those  of  the  monk 
and  of  the  soldier.  They  permitted 
a  man  to  be  both  at  once;  the 
knight  might  wear  a  monkish 
cowl  over  his  coat  of  armor. 

The  Hospitalers  grew  out  of 
a  monastic  association  that  was 
formed  before  the  First  Crusade 
for  the  succor  of  the  poor  and  sick 
among  the  pilgrims.  Later  the 
society  admitted  noble  knights  to 
its  membership  and  became  a  mili- 
tary order,  at  the  same  time  con- 
tinuing its  care  for  the  sick.  This 
charitable  association,  like  the 
earlier  monasteries,  received  gen- 
erous gifts  of  land  in  western 
Europe  and  built  and  controlled 
many  fortified  monasteries  in  the 
Holy  Land  itself.  After  the  evacu- 
ation of  Syria  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  the  Hospitalers  moved 
their  headquarters  to  the  Island  of 
Rhodes,  and  later  to  Malta.  The 
order  still  exists,  and  it  is  considered  a  distinction  to  this  day  to 
have  the  privilege  of  wearing  its  emblem,  the  cross  of  Malta. 

Before  the  Hospitalers  were  transformed  into  a  military 
order,  a  little  group  of  French  knights  banded  together  in  1 1 19 


Fig. 


172.  Costume  of  the 
Hospitalers 


The  Hospitaler  here  repre- 
sented bears  the  peculiar 
Maltese  cross  on  his  bosom. 
His  crucifix  indicates  his  reli- 
gious character,  but  his  sword 
and  the  armor  which  he  wears 
beneath  his  long  gown  enabled 
him  to  fight  as  well  as  pray, 
and  to  succor  the  wounded 


TJie  Crusades  469 

to  defend  pilgrims  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem  from  the  attacks  The 
of  the  infidel.  They  were  assigned  quarters  in  the  king's  palace  ^^"^P^^''^ 
at  Jerusalem,  on  the  site  of  the  former  Temple  of  Solomon ; 
hence  the  name  "  Templars,"  which  they  were  destined  to  render 
famous.  The  ''  poor  soldiers  of  the  Temple  "  were  enthusiasti- 
cally approved  by  the  Church.  They  wore  a  white  cloak  adorned 
with  a  red  cross,  and  were  under  a  very  strict  monastic  rule 
which  bound  them  by  the  vows  of  obedience,  poverty,  and 
celibacy.  The  fame  of  the  order  spread  throughout  Europe, 
and  the  most  exalted,  even  dukes  and  princes,  were  ready  to 
renounce  the  world  and  serve  Christ  under  its  black  and  white 
banner,  with  the  legend  Non  iiobis,  Domine. 

The  order  was  aristocratic  from  the  first,  and  it  soon  became 
incredibly  rich  and  independent.  It  had  its  collectors  in  all  parts 
of  Europe,  who  dispatched  the  "  alms "  they  received  to  the 
Grand  Master  at  Jerusalem.  Towns,  churches,  and  estates  were 
given  to  the  order,  as  well  as  vast  sums  of  money.  The  king 
of  Aragon  proposed  to  bestow  upon  it  a  third  of  his  kingdom. 
The  Pope  showered  privileges  upon  the  Templars.  They  were 
exempted  from  tithes  and  taxes  and  were  brought  under  his 
immediate  jurisdiction ;  they  were  released  from  feudal  obliga- 
tions, and  bishops  were  forbidden  to  excommunicate  them  for 
any  cause. 

No  wonder  they  grew  insolent  and  aroused  the  jealousy  and  Abolition  of 
hate  of  princes  and  prelates  alike.  Even  Innocent  III  violently  Tempia^rs^ 
upbraided  them  for  admitting  to  their  order  wicked  men  who 
then  enjoyed  all  the  privileges  of  churchmen.  Early  in  the  four- 
teenth century,  through  the  combined  efforts  of  the  Pope  and 
Philip  the  Fair  of  France,  the  order  was  brought  to  a  terrible 
end.  Its  members  were  accused  of  the  most  abominable  prac- 
tices, —  such  as  heresy,  the  worship  of  idols,  and  the  systematic 
insulting  of  Christ  and  his  religion.  Many  distinguished  Tem- 
plars were  burned  for  heresy  ;  others  perished  miserably  in  dun- 
geons. The  once  powerful  order  was  abolished  and  its  property 
confiscated. 


470 


Outlines  of  Europian  History 


The  Second 
Crusade 


Section  8i.    The  SecOxXd  and  Later  Crusades 

Fifty  years  after  the  preaching  of  the  First  Crusade,  the 
fall  of  Edessa  (i  144),  an  important  outpost  of  the  Christians  in 
the  East,  led  to  a  second  great  expedition.  This  was  forwarded 
by  no  less  a  person  than  St.  Bernard,  who  went  about  using 
his  unrivaled  eloquence  to  induce  volunteers  to  take  the  cross. 


Fig.  173.    Krak-des-Chevaliers,  restored 

This  is  an  example  of  the  strong  casdes  that  the  crusaders  built  in 
Syria.  It  was  completed  in  the  form  here  represented  about  the  year 
1200  and  lies  halfway  between  Antioch  and  Damascus.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  there  was  a  fortress  within  a  fortress.  The  castle  is  now 
in  ruins  (see  headpiece  of  this  chapter) 


In  a  fierce  hymn  of  battle  he  cried  to  the  Knights  Templars  : 
"  The  Christian  who  slays  the  unbeliever  in  the  Holy  War  is 
sure  of  his  reward,  the  more  sure  if  he  himself  be  slain.  The 
Christian  glories  in  the  death  of  the  infidel,  because  Christ  is 
glorified."  The  king  of  France  readily  consented  to  take  the 
cross,  but  the  Emperor,  Conrad  III,  appears  to  have  yielded 
only  after  St.  Bernard  had  preached  before  him  and  given  a 
vivid  picture  of  the  terrors  of  the  Judgment  Day. 


TJie  Crusades 


471 


In  regard  to  the  less  distinguished  recruits,  a  historian  of  the 
time  tells  us  that  so  many  thieves  and  robbers  hastened  to 
take  the  cross  that  every  one  felt  that  such  enthusiasm  could 
only  be  the  work  of  God  himself.  St.  Bernard  himself,  the  chief 
promoter  of  the  expedition,  gives  a  most  unflattering  description 
of  the  "  soldiers  of  Christ."  "  In  that  countless  multitude  you 
will  find  few  except  the  utterly  wicked  and  impious,  the  sacri- 
legious, homicides,  and  perjurers,  whose  departure  is  a  double 
gain.  Europe  rejoices  to  lose  them  and  Palestine  to  gain  them ; 
they  are  useful  in  both  ways,  in  their  absence  from  here  and  their 
presence  there." 
It  is  unnecessary 
to  describe  the 
movements  and 
fate  of  these  cru- 
saders ;  suffice  it 
to  say  that,  from 
a  military  stand- 
point, the  so-called 
Second  Crusade 
was  a  miserable 
failure. 

In  the  year 
1 187,  forty  years 
later,  Jerusalem 
was  recaptured  by 

Saladin,  the  most  heroic  and  distinguished  of  all  the  Moham- 
medan rulers  of  that  period.  The  loss  of  the  Holy  City  led  to 
the  most  famous  of  all  the  military  expeditions  to  the  Holy 
Land,  in  which  Frederick  Barbarossa,  Richard  the  Lion-Hearted 
of  England,  and  his  political  rival,  Philip  Augustus  of  France, 
all  took  part  (see  above,  p.  41 7).  The  accounts  of  the  enterprise 
show  that  while  the  several  Christian  leaders  hated  one  another 
heartily  enough,  the  Christians  and  Mohammedans  were  coming 
to  respect  one  another.    We  find  examples  of  the  most  courtly 


Fig.  174.    Tomb  of  a  Crusader 

The  churches  of  England,  France,  and  Germany 

contain  numerous  figures  in  stone  and  brass  of 

crusading  knights,   reposing   in  full   armor  with 

shield  and  sword  on  their  tombs 


The  Fourth 
and  subse- 
quent 
Crusades 


472 


Oiitlijies  of  European  History 


relations  between  the  representatives  of  the  opposing  religions. 
In  1 192  Richard  concluded  a  truce  with  Saladin,  by  the  terms 
of  which  the  Christian  pilgrims  were  allowed  to  visit  the  holy 
places  in  safety  and  comfort. 

In  the  thirteenth  century  the  crusaders  began  to  direct  their 
expeditions  toward  Egypt  as  the  center  of  the  Mohammedan 
power.  The  first  of  these  was  diverted  in  an  extraordinary 
manner  by  the  Venetians,  who  induced  the  crusaders  to  con- 
quer Constantinople  for  their  benefit.  The  further  expeditions 
of  Frederick  II  (see  above,  p.  457)  and  St.  Louis  need  not  be 
described.  Jerusalem  was  irrevocably  lost  in  1 2  44,  and  although 
the  possibility  of  recovering  the  city  was  long  considered,  the 
Crusades  may  be  said  to  have  come  to  a  close  before  the  end 
of  the  thirteenth  century. 


Section  82.    Chief  Results  of  the  Crusades 


Settlements 
of  the  Italian 
nierchants 


Oriental 
luxury  intro- 
duced into 
Europe 


For  one  class,  at  least,  the  Holy  Land  had  great  and  perma- 
nent charms,  namely,  the  Italian  merchants,  especially  those 
from  Genoa,  Venice,  and  Pisa.  It  was  through  their  early  inter- 
est and  by  means  of  supplies  from  their  ships,  that  the  conquest 
of  the  Holy  Land  had  been  rendered  possible.  The  merchants 
always  made  sure  that  they  were  well  paid  for  their  services. 
When  they  aided  in  the  successful  siege  of  a  town  they  arranged 
that  a  definite  quarter  should  be  assigned  to  them  in  the  cap- 
tured place,  where  they  might  have  their  market,  docks,  church, 
and  all  that  was  necessary  for  a  permanent  center  for  their  com- 
merce. This  district  belonged  to  the  town  from  which  the  mer- 
chants came.  Venice  even  sent  governors  to  live  in  the  quarters 
assigned  to  its  citizens  in  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem.  Marseilles 
also  had  independent  quarters  in  Jerusalem,  and  Genoa  had  its 
share  in  the  county  of  Tripoli. 

This  new  commerce  had  a  most  important  infiuence  in  bring- 
ing the  West  into  permanent  relations  with  the  Orient.  Eastern 
products  from    India  and  elsewhere  —  silks,  spices,  camphor, 


TJie  Crusades  473 

musk,  pearls,  and  ivory  —  were  brought  by  the  Mohammedans 
from  the -East  to  the  commercial  towns  of  Palestine  and  Syria; 
then,  through  the  Italian  merchants,  they  found  their  way  into 
France  and  Germany,  suggesting  ideas  of  luxury  hitherto 
scarcely  dreamed  of  by  the  still  half-barbarous  Franks. 

Moreover,  the  Crusades  had  a  great  effect  upon  the  methods  Effects  of 
of  warfare,  for  the  soldiers  from  the  West  learned  from  the  orTwarfare^^ 
Greeks  about  the  old  Roman  methods  of  constructing  machines 
for  attacking  castles  and  walled  towns.  This  led,  as  has  been 
pointed  out  in  a  previous  chapter  (see  section  64),  to  the  con- 
struction in  western  Europe  of  stone  castles,  first  with  square 
towers  and  later  with  round  ones,  the  remains  of  which  are  so 
common  in  Germany,  France,  and  England.  The  Crusades  also 
produced  heraldry,  or  the  science  of  coats  of  arms.  These  were 
the  badges  that  single  knights  or  groups  of  knights  adopted  in 
order  to  distinguish  themselves  from  other  people. 

Some  of  the  results  of  the  Crusades  upon  western  Europe  Results  of 
must  already  be  obvious,  even  from  this  very  brief  account. 
Thousands  and  thousands  of  Frenchmen,  Germans,  and  Eng- 
lishmen had  traveled  to  the  Orient  by  land  and  by  sea.  Most 
of  them  came  from  hamlets  or  castles  where  they  could  never 
have  learned  much  of  the  great  world  beyond  the  confines  of 
their  native  village  or  province.  They  suddenly  found  them- 
selves in  great  cities  and  in  the  midst  of  unfamiliar  peoples  and  - 
customs.  This  could  not  fail  to  make  them  think  and  give  them 
new  ideas  to  carry  home.  The  Crusade  took  the  place  of  a 
liberal  education.  The  crusaders  came  into  contact  with  those 
who  knew  more  than  they  did,  above  all  the  Arabs,  and  brought 
back  with  them  new  notions  of  comfort  and  luxury. 

Yet  in  attempting  to  estimate  the  debt  of  the  West  to  the 
Crusades  it  should  be  remembered  that  many  of  the  new  things 
may  well  have  come  from  Constantinople,  or  through  the 
Mohammedans  of  Sicily  and  Spain,^  quite  independently  of  the 

1  The  western  Europeans  derived  many  important  ideas  from  the  Mohamme- 
dans in  Spain,  as  Arabic  numerals,  alchemy,  algebra,  and  the  use  of  paper. 


474  Outlines  of  European  History 

armed  incursions  into  Syria.  Moreover,  during  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  centuries  towns  were  rapidly  growing  up  in  Europe, 
trade  and  manufactures  were  extending,  and  the  universities 
were  being  founded.  It  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  with- 
out the  Crusades  this  progress  would  not  have  taken  place. 
So  we  may  conclude  that  the  distant  expeditions  and  the  con- 
tact with  strange  and  more  highly  civilized  peoples  did  no  more 
than  hasten  the  improvement  which  was  already  perceptible 
before  Urban  made  his  ever-memorable  address  at  Clermont. 


QUESTIONS 

Section  78.  What  led  to  the  Crusades  .-^  Describe  Urban's  speech. 
What  was  the  character  of  Peter  the  Hermit's  expedition  ? 

Section  79.  Who  were  the  leaders  of  the  First  Crusade.? 
Describe  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Crusaders. 

Section  80.  Who  were  the  Hospitalers }  What  was  the  order 
of  the  Temple  and  what  became  of  the  Templars  ? 

Section  81.  What  was  the  Second  Crusade?  Give  some  par- 
ticulars in  regard  to  the  Third  Crusade  and  its  leaders. 

Section  82.  Give  as  complete  an  account  as  you  can  of  the  chief 
results  of  the  Crusades. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  MEDIEVAL  CHURCH  AT  ITS  HEIGHT 

Section  83.    Organization  and  Powers  of 
THE  Church 


In  the  preceding  pages  it  has  been  necessary  to  refer  con- 
stantly to  the  Church  and  the  clergy.  Indeed,  without  them 
medieval  histor)^  would  become  almost  a  blank,  for  the  Church 
was  incomparably  the  most  important  institution  of  the  time, 
and  its  officers  were  the  soul  of  nearly  every  great  enterprise. 
We  have  already  learned  something  of  the  rise  of  the  Church 
and  of  its  head,  the  Pope,  as  well  as  the  mode  of  life  and  the 
work  of  the  monks  as  they  spread  over  Europe.  We  have 
also  watched  the  long  struggle  between  the  emperors  and  the 
popes,  in  which  the  emperors  were  finally  worsted.  We  must 
now  consider  the  Medieval  Church  as  a  completed  institution  at 
the  height  of  its  power  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries. 

475 


476 


Outlines  of  Europcati  History 


Ways  in 
which  the 
Medieval 
Church  dif- 
fered from 
modern 
churches 


Membership 
in  the 
Medieval 
Church 
compulsory 


The  wealth 
of  the 
Church 


The  tithe 


Resemblance 
of  the  Church 
to  a  State 


We  have  already  had  abundant  proofs  that  the  Medieval 
Church  was  very  different  from  our  modern  churches,  whether 
Catholic  or  Protestant. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  every  one  was  required  to  belong  to  it, 
just  as  we  all  must  belong  to  some  country  to-day.  One  was 
not  bom  into  the  Church,  it  is  true,  but  he  was  ordinarily  bap- 
tized into  it  when  he  was  a  mere  infant.  All  western  Europe 
formed  a  single  religious  association,  from  w^hich  it  was  a  crime 
to  revolt.  To  refuse  allegiance  to  the  Church,  or  to  question 
its  authority  or  teachings,  was  regarded  as  treason  against  God 
and  was  punishable  with  death. 

2.  The  Medieval  Church  did  not  rely  for  its  support,  as 
churches  usually  must  to-day,  upon  the  voluntary  contributions 
of  its  members.  It  enjoyed,  in  addition  to  the  revenue  from  its 
vast  tracts  of  lands  and  a  great  variety  of  fees,  the  income  from 
a  regular  tax,  the  tithe.  Those  upon  whom  this  fell  were  forced 
to  pay  it,  just  as  we  all  must  now  pay  taxes  imposed  by  the 
government. 

3.  It  is  clear,  moreover,  that  the  Medieval  Church  was  not 
merely  a  religious  body,  as  churches  are  to-day.  Of  course  it 
maintained  places  of  worship,  conducted  devotional  exercises, 
and  cultivated  the  religious  life ;  but  it  did  far  more.  It  was,  in 
a  way,  a  State,  for  it  had  an  elaborate  system  of  law,  and  its 
own  courts,  in  which  it  tried  many  cases  which  are  now  settled 
in  our  ordinary  courts. -"^  One  may  get  some  idea  of  the  business 
of  the  church  courts  from  the  fact  that  the  Church  claimed  the 
right  to  try  all  cases  in  which  a  clergyman  was  involved,  or  any 
one  connected  with  the  Church  or  under  its  special  protection, 
such  as  monks,  students,  crusaders,  widows,  orphans,  and  the 
helpless.  Then  all  cases  where  the  rites  of  the  Church,  or  its 
prohibitions,  were  involved  came  ordinarily  before  the  church 
courts,  as,  for  example,  those  concerning  marriage,  wills,  sworn 

1  The  law  of  the  Church  was  known  as  the  canon  law.  It  was  taught  in  most 
of  the  universities  and  practiced  by  a  great  number  of  lawyers.  It  was  based  upon 
the  acts  of  the  various  church  councils,  from  that  of  Nicaea  (325  a.u.)  down,  and, 
above  all,  upon  the  decrees  and  decisions  of  the  popes. 


The  Medieval  Clutrch  at  its  Height  477 

contracts,  usury,  blasphemy,  sorcery,  heresy,  and  so  forth.  The 
Church  even  had  its  prisons,  to  which  it  might  sentence  offenders 
for  life. 

4.  The  Church  not  only  performed  the  functions  of  a  State ;   Unity  of 
it  had  the  organization  of  a  State.   Unlike  the  Protestant  min-   °n^he'^^*^°" 
isters  of  to-day,  all  churchmen   and   religious   associations  of  Church 
medieval  Europe  were  under  one  supreme  head,  the  Pope,  who 
made  laws  for  all  and  controlled  every  church  officer,  wherever 
he  might  be,  whether  in  Italy  or  Germany,  Spain  or  Ireland. 
The  whole  Church  had  one  official  language,  Latin,  in  which 
all  communications  were  written  and  in  which  its  services  were 
everywhere  conducted. 

The  Medieval  Church  may  therefore  properly  be  called  a  The  Medi- 
monarchy  in  its  government.  The  Pope  was  its  all-powerful  rmoSarchy 
and  absolute  head.    He  was  the  supreme  lawgiver.    He  might   '"  '^^  ^^''"^  °^ 

^  °        government 

set  aside  or   repeal  any  law   of   the  Church,   no   matter  how 
ancient,  so  long  as  he  did  not  believe  it  to  be  ordained  by  the 
Scriptures  or  by  Nature.     He  might,  for  good  reasons,  make   Dispensa- 
exceptions  to  all  merely  human  laws ;  as,  for  instance,  permit  "^'^"^ 
cousins  to  marry,  or  free  a  monk  from  his  vows.    Such  exceptions 
were  known  as  dispensatiofis. 

The  Pope  was  not  merely  the  supreme  lawgiver ;  he  was  the   The  Pope 
supreme  judge.    Any  one,  whether  clergyman  or  layman,  in  any  judg^e^or"^^ 
part  of  Europe  could  appeal  to  him  at  any  stage  in  the  trial  of   Christendom 
a  large  class  of  cases.    Obviously  this  system  had  serious  draw- 
backs.   Grave  injustice  might  be  done  by  carrying  to  Rome  a 
case  which  ought  to  have  been  settled  in  Edinburgh  or  Cologne, 
where  the  facts  were  best  known.    The  rich,  moreover,  always 
had   the  advantage,  as   they  alone  could  afford  to  bring  suits 
before  so  distant  a  court. 

The  control  of  the  Pope  over  all  parts  of  the  Christian  Church 
was  exercised  by  his  legates.  These  papal  ambassadors  were 
intrusted  with  great  powers.  Their  haughty  mien  sometimes 
offended  the  prelates  and  rulers  to  whom  they  brought  home 
the  authority  of  the  pope,  —  as,  for  instance,  when  the  legate 


478 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Roman 
curia 


Sources  of 
the  Pope's 
income 


The  arch- 
bishops 


The  impor- 
tance of  the 
bishops 


Pandulf  grandly  absolved  all  the  subjects  of  King  John  of 
England,  before  his  very  face,  from  their  oath  of  fealty  to  him 
(see  above,  p.  419). 

The  task  assumed  by  the  Pope  of  governing  the  whole 
western  world  naturally  made  it  necessary  to  create  a  large  body 
of  officials  at  Rome  in  order  to  transact  all  the  multiform  business 
and  prepare  and  transmit  the  innumerable  legal  documents.^ 
The  cardinals  and  the  Pope's  officials  constituted  what  was 
called  the  papal  curia,  or  court. 

.  To  carry  on  his  government  and  meet  the  expenses  of  pal- 
ace and  retinue,  the  Pope  had  need  of  a  vast  income.  This  he 
secured  from  various  sources.  Heavy  fees  were  exacted  from 
those  who  brought  suits  to  his  court  for  decision.  The  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  and  abbots  were  expected  to  make  generous 
contributions  when  the  Pope  confirmed  their  election.  In  the 
thirteenth  century  the  Pope  himself  began  to  fill  many  benefices 
throughout  Europe,  and  customarily  received  half  the  first  year's 
revenues  from  those  whom  he  appointed.  For  several  centuries 
before  the  Protestants  finally  threw  off  their  allegiance  to  the 
popes,  there  was  widespread  complaint  on  the  part  of  both 
clergy  and  laymen  that  the  fees  and  taxes  levied  by  the  curia 
were  excessive. 

Next  in  order  below  the  head  of  the  Church  were  the  arch- 
bishops and  bishops.  An  archbishop  was  a  bishop  whose  power 
extended  beyond  the  boundaries  of  his  own  diocese  and  who 
exercised  a  certain  control  over  al)  the  bishops  within  his 
province. 

There  is  perhaps  no  class  of  persons  in  medieval  times  whose 
position  it  is  so  necessary  to  understand  as  that  of  the  bishops. 
They  were  regarded  as  the  successors  of  the  apostles,  whose 
powers  were  held  to  be  divinely  transmitted  to  them.  They 
represented  the  Church  Universal  in  their  respective  dioceses, 
under  the   supreme   headship  of   their   "  elder   brother,"    the 

1  Many  of  the  edicts,  decisions,  and  orders  of  the  popes  were  called  hdls^ 
from  the  seal  (Latin  buUa)  attached  to  them. 


The  Medieiml  CJinrcJi  at  its  Height 


479 


bishop  of  Rome,  the  successor  of  the  chief  of  the  apostles. 
Their  insignia  of  office,  the  miter  and  crosier,  are  familiar  to 
every  one.^  Each  bishop  had  his  especial  church,  which  was 
called  a  cathedral,  and  usually  surpassed  the  other  churches  of 
the  diocese  in  size  and  beautv. 


Fig.  175.    Canterbury  Cathedral 

The  bishop's  church  was  called  a  cathedral,  because  in  it  stood  the 
bishop's  chair,  or  throne  (Latin  cathedra).  It  was  therefore  much  more 
imposing  ordinarily  than  the  parish  churches,  although  sometimes  the 
abbey  churches  belonging  to  rich  monasteries  vied  with  the  bishop's 
church  in  beauty  (see  below,  section  89) 

In  addition  to  the  oversight  of  his  diocese,  it  was  the  bishop's   The  bishop's 
business  to  look  after  the  lands  and  other  possessions  which 


duties 


belonged  to  the  bishopric.  Lastly,  the  bishop  was  usually  a 
feudal  lord,  with  the  obligations  which  that  implied.  He  might 
have  vassals  and  subvassals,  and  often  was  himself  a  vassal,  not 
only  of  the  king  but  also  of  some  neighboring  lord. 


1  The  headpiece  of  this  chapter  represents  an  English  bishop  ordaining  a 
priest  and  is  taken  from  a  manuscript  of  Henry  II 's  time.  The  bishop  is 
wearing  his  miter  and  holds  his  pastoral  staff,  the  crosier,  in  his  left  hand  while 
he  raises  his  right,  in  blessing,  over  the  priest's  head. 


4{^o 


Outliiics  of  Europe  ail  History 


The  parish 
priest  and 
ins  duties 


The  exalted 
position  of 
the  clergy 


Nature  of 
penance 


Only  clergy- 
men ordi- 
narily knew 
how  to  read 
and  write 


The  lowest  division  of  the  Church  was  the  parish.  At  the 
head  of  the  parish  was  the  parish  priest,  who  conducted  services 
in  the  parish  church  and  absolved,  baptized,  married,  and  buried 
his  parishioners.  The  priests  were  supposed  to  be  supported  by 
the  lands  belonging  to  the  parish  church  and  by  the  tithes.  But 
both  of  these  sources  of  income  were  often  in  the  hands  of  lay- 
men or  of  a  neighboring  monastery,  while  the  poor  priest  re- 
ceived the  merest  pittance,  scarcely  sufficient  to  keep  soul  and 
body  together. 

The  clergy  were  set  apart  from  the  laity  in  several  ways. 
The  higher  orders  —  bishop,  priest,  deacon,  and  subdeacon  — 
were  required  to  remain  unmarried,  and  in  this  way  were 
freed  from  the  cares  and  interests  of  family  life.  The  Church 
held,  moreover,  that  the  higher  clergy,  when  they  had  been 
properly  ordained,  received  through  their  ordination  a  mysterious 
imprint,  the  "  indelible  character,"  so  that  they  could  never 
become  simple  laymen  again,  even  if  they  ceased  to  perform 
their  duties  altogether.  Above  all,  the  clergy  alone  could  ad- 
minister the  sacraments  upon  which  it  was  believed  the  salva- 
tion of  every  individual  soul  depended. 

The  punishment  for  sin  imposed  by  the  priest  was  called 
pe7ia?ice.  This  took  a  great  variety  of  forms.  It  might  consist 
in  fasting,  repeating  prayers,  visiting  holy  places,  or  abstaining 
from  one's  ordinary  amusements.  A  journey  to  the  Holy  Land 
was  regarded  as  taking  the  place  of  all  other  penance.  Instead, 
however,  of  requiring  the  penitent  actually  to  perform  the  fasts, 
pilgrimages,  or  other  sacrifices  imposed  as  penance  by  the  priest, 
the  Church  early  began  to  permit  him  to  change  his  penance 
into  a  contribution,  to  be  applied  to  some  pious  enterprise,  like 
building  a  church  or  bridge,  or  caring  for  the  poor  and  sick. 

The  influence  of  the  clergy  was  greatly  increased  by  the  fact 
that  they  alone  were  educated.  For  six  or  seven  centuries  after 
the  overthrow  of  the  Roman  government  in  the  West,  very  few 
outside  of  the  clergy  ever  dreamed  of  studying,  or  even  of  learn- 
ing to  read  and  write.    Even  in  the  thirteenth  century  an  offender 


The  Medieval  CliiircJi  at  its  HeigJit  481 

who  wished  to  prove  that-  he  belonged  to  the  clergy,  in  order 
that  he  might  be  tried  by  a  church  court,  had  only  to  show  that 
he  could  read  a  single  line ;  for  it  was  assumed  by  the  judges 
that  no  one  unconnected  with  the  Church  could  read  at  all. 

It  was  therefore  inevitable  that  all  the  teachers  were  clergy- 
men, that  almost  all  the  books  were  wTitten  by  priests  and 
monks,  and  that  the  clergy  was  the  ruling  power  in  all  intellectual, 
artistic,  and  literary  matters  —  the  chief  guardians  and  promoters 
of  civilization.  Moreover,  the  civil  government  was  forced  to 
rely  upon  churchmen  to  write  out  the  public  documents  and 
proclamations.  The  priests  and  monks  held  the  pen  for  the 
king.  Representatives  of  the  clergy  sat  in  the  king's  councils 
and  acted  as  his  ministers ;  in  fact,  the  conduct  of  the  govern- 
ment largely  devolved  upon  them. 

The  offices  in  the  Church  were  open  to  all  ranks  of  men,  and   Offices  in  the 
many  of  the  popes  themselves  sprang  from  the  humblest  classes,   j^  airdasse" 
The  Church  thus  constantly  recruited  its  ranks  with  fresh  blood. 
No  one  held  an  office  simply  because  his  father  had  held  it 
before  him,  as  was  the  case  in  the  civil  government. 

No  wonder  that  the  churchmen  w^ere  by  far  the  most  power-  Excommu- 
ful  class  in  the  Middle  Ages.  They  controlled  great  wealth  ;  they  interdict^" 
alone  were  educated ;  they  held  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  and  without  their  aid  no  one  could  hope  to  enter  in. 
By  excommunication  they  could  cast  out  the  enemies  of  the 
Church  and  could  forbid  all  men  to  associate  with  them,  since 
they  were  accursed.  By  means  of  the  interdict  they  could  sus- 
pend all  religious  ceremonies  in  a  whole  city  or  country  by 
closing  the  church  doors  and  prohibiting  all  public  services. 

Section  84.    The  Heretics  and  the  Inquisition 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  the  power  and  wonderful  organi-   Rebels 
zation  of  the  Church,  a  few  people  began  to  revolt  against  it  as   Srch^^^ 
early  as  the  time  of  Gregory  VII ;  and  the  number  of  these 

rebels  continued  to  increase  as  time  went  on.    Popular  leaders 

I 


482 


Outlijics  of  liu7'opca)i  History 


\  eresy 


The  Walden- 
sians 


The  Albi- 
gensians 


arose  who  declared  that  no  one  ought  any  longer  to  rely  upon 
the  Church  for  his  salvation ;  that  all  its  elaborate  ceremonies 
were  worse  than  useless  ;  that  its  Masses,  holy  water,  and  relics 
were  mere  money-getting  devices  of  a  sinful  priesthood  and 
helped  no  one  to  heaven. 

Those  who  questioned  the  teachings  of  the  Church  and  pro- 
posed to  cast  off  its  authority  were,  according  to  the  accepted 
view  of  the  time,  guilty  of  the  supreme  crime  of  heresy. 
Heretics  were  of  two  sorts.  One  class  merely  rejected  the 
practices  and  some  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  while  they  remained  Christians  and  endeavored  to 
imitate  as  nearly  as  possible  the  simple  life  of  Christ  and  the 
apostles. 

Among  those  who  continued  to  accept  the  Christian  faith  but 
refused  to  obey  the  clergy,  the  most  important  sect  was  that  of 
the  Waldensians,  which  took  its  rise  about  1175.  These  were 
followers  of  Peter  Waldo  of  Lyons,  who  gave  up  all  their 
property  and  lived  a  life  of  apostolic  poverty.  They  went  about 
preaching  the  Gospel  and  explaining  the  Scriptures,  which  they 
translated  from  Latin  into  the  language  of  the  people.  They 
made  many  converts,  and  before  the  end  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury there  were  great  numbers  of  them  scattered  throughout 
western  Europe. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  popular  leaders  who  taught 
that  the  Christian  religion  itself  was  false.  They  held  that  there 
were  two  principles  in  the  universe,  the  good  and  the  evil, 
which  were  forever  fighting  for  the  victory.  They  asserted 
that  the  Jehovah  of  the  Old  Testament  was  really  the  evil 
power,  and  that  it  was,  therefore,  the  evil  power  whom  the  Cath- 
olic Church  worshiped.  These  heretics  were  commonly  called 
Albigensians,  a  name  derived  from  the  town  of  Albi  in  southern 
France,  where  they  were  very  numerous. 

It  is  very  difficult  for  us  who  live  in  a  tolerant  age  to  under- 
stand the  universal  and  deep-rooted  horror  of  heresy  which  long 
prevailed  in  Europe.    But  we  must  recollect  that  to  the  orthodox 


The  Medieval  CJmrch  at  its  Height  483 

believer  in  the  Church  nothing  could  exceed  the  guilt  of  one 
who  committed  treason  against  God  by  rejecting  the  religion 
which  had  been  handed  down  in  the  Roman  Church  from  the 
immediate  followers  of  his  Son.  Moreover,  doubt  and  unbelief 
were  not  merely  sin ;  they  were  revolt  against  the  most  power- 
ful social  institution  of  the  time,  which,  in  spite  of  the  sins  of 
some  of  its  officials,  continued  to  be  venerated  by  people  at 
large  throughout  western  Europe.  The  story  of  the  Albigensians 
and  Waldensians,  and  the  efforts  of  the  Church  to  suppress 
them  by  persuasion,  by  fire  and  sword,  and  by  the  stern  court 
of  the  Inquisition,  form  a  strange  and  terrible  chapter  in 
medieval  history. 

In  southern  France  there  were  many  adherents  of  both  the 
Albigensians  and  the  Waldensians,  especially  in  the  county  of 
Toulouse.  At  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century  there 
was  in  this  region  an  open  contempt  for  the  Church,  and  bold 
heretical  teachings  were  heard  even  among  the  higher  classes. 

Against  the  people  of  this  flourishing  land  Innocent  III  Albigensian 
preached  a  crusade  in  1208.  An  army  marched  from  northern 
France  into  the  doomed  region  and,  after  one  of  the  most 
atrocious  and  bloody  wars  upon  record,  suppressed  the  heresy 
by  wholesale  slaughter.  At  the  same  time,  the  war  checked  the 
civilization  and  destroyed  the  prosperity  of  the  most  enlightened 
portion  of  France. 

The  most  permanent  defense  of  the  Church  against  heresy  was  The  inqui- 
the  establishment,  under  the  headship  of  the  Pope,  of  a  system 
of  courts  designed  to  ferret  out  secret  cases  of  unbelief  and  bring 
the  offenders  to  punishment.  These  courts,  which  devoted  their 
whole  attention  to  the  discovery  and  conviction  of  heretics,  were 
called  the  Holy  Inquisition,  which  gradually  took  form  after 
the  Albigensian  crusade.  The  unfairness  of  the  trials  and  the 
cruel  treatment  to  which  those  suspected  of  heresy  were  sub- 
jected, through  long  imprisonment  or  torture,  —  inflicted  with 
the  hope  of  forcing  them  to  confess  their  crime  or  to  implicate 
others,  —  have  rendered  the  name  of  the  Inquisition  infamous. 


484 


Outlines  of  Hu7vpcan  History 


Fate  of  the 

convicted 

heretic 


Without  by  any  means  attempting  to  defend  the  methods 
employed,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  inquisitors  were  often 
earnest  and  upright  men,  and  the  methods  of  procedure  of  the 
Inquisition  were  not  more  cruel  than  those  used  in  the  secular 
courts  of  the  period. 

The  assertion  of  the  suspected  person  that  he  was  not  a 
heretic  did  not  receive  any  attention,  for  it  was  assumed  that 
he  would  naturally  deny  his  guilt,  as  would  any  other  criminal. 
A  person's  belief  had,  therefore,  to  be  judged  by  outward  acts. 
Consequently  one  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Inquisition 
by  mere  accidental  conversation  with  a  heretic,  by  some  unin- 
tentional neglect  to  show  due  respect  toward  the  Church  rites, 
or  by  the  malicious  testimony  of  one's  neighbors.  This  is  really 
the  most  terrible  aspect  of  the  Inquisition  and  its  procedure. 

If  the  suspected  person  confessed  his  guilt  and  abjured  his 
heresy,  he  was  forgiven  and  received  back  into  the  Church ; 
but  a  penance  of  life  imprisonment  was  imposed  upon  him  as 
a  fitting  means  of  wiping  away  the  unspeakable  sin  of  which  he 
had  been  guilty.  If  he  persisted  in  his  heresy,  he  was  "  relaxed 
to  the  secular  arm  "  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Church,  whose  law  for- 
bade it  to  shed  blood,  handed  over  the  convicted  person  to  the 
civil  power,  which  burned  him  alive  without  further  trial. 


Section  8:;.    The  Franxiscans  and  Dominicans 


Founding  of 
the  mendi- 
cant orders 


We  may  now  turn  to  that  far  more  cheerful  and  effective 
method  of  meeting  the  opponents  of  the  Church,  which  may 
be  said  to  have  been  discovered  by  St.  Francis  of  Assisi.  His 
teachings  and  the  example  of  his  beautiful  life  probably  did  far 
more  to  secure  continued  allegiance  to  the  Church  than  all  the 
harsh  devices  of  the  Inquisition. 

We  have  seen  how  the  Waldensians  tried  to  better  the  world 
by  living  simple  lives  and  preaching  the  Gospel.  Owing  to  the 
disfavor  of  the  Church  authorities,  who  declared  their  teach- 
ings   erroneous   and    dangerous,    they    were    prevented    from 


The  Medieval  Church  at  its  Height  485 

publicly  carrying  on  their  missionary  work.  Yet  all  conscientious 
men  agreed  with  the  Waldensians  that  the  world  was  in  a  sad 
plight,  owing  to  the  negligence  and  the  misdeeds  of  the  clergy. 
St.  Francis  and  St.  Dominic  strove  to  meet  the  needs  of  their 
time  by  inventing  a  new  kind  of  clergyman,  the  begging  brother, 
or  "mendicant  friar"  (from  the  l.dXmf rater,  " brother").  He  was 
to  do  just  what  the  bishops  and  parish  priests  often  failed  to  do 
—  namely,  lead  a  holy  life  of  self-sacrifice,  defend  the  Church's 
beliefs  against  the  attacks  of  the  heretics,  and  awaken  the  people 
to  a  new  religious  life.  The  founding  of  the  mendicant  orders 
is  one  of  the  most  interesting  events  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

There  is  no  more  lovely  and  fascinating  figure  in  all  history  St.  Francis 
than  St.  Francis.  He  was  born  (probably  in  1182)  at  Assisi,  a  1 182-1226 
little  town  in  central  Italy.  He  was  the  son  of  a  well-to-do 
merchant,  and  during  his  early  youth  he  lived  a  very  gay  life, 
spending  his  father's  money  freely.  He  read  the  French 
romances  of  the  time  and  dreamed  of  imitating  the  brave 
knights  whose  adventures  they  described.  Although  his  com- 
panions were  wild  and  reckless,  there  was  a  delicacy  and  chivalry 
in  Francis's  own  make-up  which  made  him  hate  all  things  coarse 
and  heartless.  When  later  he  voluntarily  became  a  beggar,  his 
ragged  cloak  still  covered  a  true  poet  and  knight. 

The  contrast  between  his  own  life  of  luxury  and  the  sad  state   Francis  for- 

S3.lccs  his  life 

of  the  poor  early  afflicted  him.    When  he  was  about  twenty,   of  luxury 
after  a  long  and  serious  illness  which  made  a  break  in  his  gay  inheritance 
life  and  gave  him  time  to  think,  he  suddenly  lost  his  love  for  the   and  becomes 
old  pleasures  and  began  to  consort  with  the  destitute,  above  all 
with  lepers.    His  father  does  not  appear  to  have  had  any  fond- 
ness whatever  for  beggars,  and  the  relations  between  him  and 
his  son  grew  more  and  more  strained.   When  finally  he  threatened 
to  disinherit  the  young  man,  Francis  cheerfully  agreed  to  sur- 
render all  right  to  his  inheritance.    Stripping  off  his  clothes  and 
giving  them  back  to  his  father,  he  accepted  the  worn-out  garment 
of  a  gardener  and  became  a  homeless  hermit,  busying  himself 
in  repairing  the  dilapidated  chapels  near  Assisi. 


486 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Francis 
begins  to 
preach  and 
to  attract 
followers 


Seeks  and 
obtains  the 
approval  of 
the  Pope 


Missionary 
work  under- 
taken 


Francis  did 
not  desire 
to  found  a 
powerful 
order 


He  soon  began  to  preach  in  a  simple  way,  and  before  long  a 
rich  fellow  townsman  resolved  to  follow  Francis's  example — sell 
his  all  and  give  to  the  poor.  Others  soon  joined  them,  and  these 
joyous  converts,  free  of  worldly  burdens,  went  barefoot  and 
penniless  about  central  Italy  preaching  the  Gospel  instead  of 
shutting  themselves  up  in  a  monastery. 

When,  with  a  dozen  followers,  Francis  appealed  to  the  Pope 
in  I2IO  for  his  approval.  Innocent  III  hesitated.  He  did  not 
believe  that  any  one  could  lead  a  life  of  absolute  poverty.  Then 
might  not  these  ragged,  ill-kempt  vagabonds  appear  to  condemn 
the  Church  by  adopting  a  life  so  different  from  that  of  the  rich 
and  comfortable  clergy?  Yet  if  he  disapproved  the  friars,  he 
would  seem  to  disapprove  at  the  same  time  Christ's  directions 
to  his  apostles.  He  finally  decided  to  authorize  the  brethren  to 
continue  their  missions. 

Seven  years  later,  when  Francis's  follower's  had  greatly  in- 
creased in  numbers,  missionary  work  was  begun  on  a  large 
scale,  and  brethren  were  dispatched  to  Germany,  Hungary, 
France,  Spain,  and  even  to  Syria.  It  was  not  long  before  an 
English  chronicler  was  telling  with  wonder  of  the  arrival  in  his 
country  of  these  barefoot  men,  in  their  patched  gowns  and  with 
ropes  about  their  waists,  who,  with  Christian  faith,  took  no 
thought  for  the  morrow,  believing  that  their  Heavenly  Father 
knew  what  things  they  had  need  of. 

As  time  went  on,  the  success  of  their  missionary  work  led 
the  Pope  to  bestow  many  privileges  upon  them.  It  grieved 
Francis,  however,  to  think  of  his  little  band  of  companions 
being  converted  into  a  great  and  powerful  order.  He  foresaw 
that  they  would  soon  cease  to  lead  their  simple,  holy  life,  and 
would  become  ambitious  and  perhaps  rich.  "  I,  litde  Brother 
Francis,"  he  writes,  "  desire  to  follow  the  life  and  the  poverty 
of  Jesus  Christ,  persevering  therein  until  the  end ;  and  I  beg 
you  all  and  exhort  you  to  persevere  always  in  this  most  holy 
life  of  poverty,  and  take  good  care  never  to  depart  from  it 
upon  the  advice  and  teachings  of  any  one  whomsoever." 


The  Medieval  Church  at  its  Height 


487 


After  the  death  of  St.  Francis  (1226)  many  of  the  order,  Change  in 

which    now  numbered   several  thousand   members,  wished   to  o^he  FralT-'^ 

maintain  the  simple  rule  of  absolute  poverty :  others,  includins:  ^^^"^^^  °''^^'' 

^  .  ^  after  Francis's 

the  new  head  of  the  order,  believed  that  much  good  might  be  death 
done  with  the  wealth  which  people  were  anxious  to  give  them. 


^<^jm^. 


•IV 


\x^ 


Fig.  176.    Church  of  St.  Fraxcis  at  Assisi 

Assisi  is  situated  on  a  high  hill,  and  the  monastery  of  the  Franciscans 
is  built  out  on  a  promontory.  The  monastery  has  t7vo  churches,  one 
above  the  other.  The  lower  church,  in  which  are  the  remains  of 
.St.  Francis,  was  begun  in  1228  and  contains  pictures  of  the  life  and  mira- 
cles of  the  saint.  To  reach  the  upper  church  (completed  1253)  one  can 
go  up  by  the  stairs,  seen  to  the  right  of  the  entrance  to  the  lower  church, 
to  the  higher  level  upon  which  the  upper  church  faces 


They  argued  that  the  individual  friars  might  still  remain  abso- 
lutely possessionless,  even  if  the  order  had  beautiful  churches 
and  comfortable  monasteries.  So  a  stately  church  was  imme- 
diately constructed  at  Assisi  (Fig.  176)  to  receive  the  remains  of 
their  humble  founder,  who  in  his  lifetime  had  chosen  a  deserted 


488 


Outlines  of  European  History 


St.  Dominic 


Founding  of 
the  Domini- 
can order 


hovel  for  his  home ;  and  a  great  chest  was  set  up  in  the  church 
to  receive  the  offerings  of  those  who  desired  to  give. 

St.  Dominic  (b.  1 1 70),  the  Spanish  founder  of  the  other  great 
mendicant  order,  was  not  a  simple  layman  like  Francis.  He 
was  a  churchman  and  took  a  regular  course  of  instruction  in 
theology  for  ten  years  in  a  Spanish  university.  He  then  (1208) 
accompanied  his  bishop  to  southern  France  on  the  eve  of  the 
Albigensian  crusade  and  was  deeply  shocked  to  see  the  preva- 
lence of  heresy.  His  host  at  Toulouse  happened  to  be  an  Albi- 
gensian, and  Dominic  spent  the  night  in  converting  him.  He  then 
and  there  determined  to  devote  his  life  to  fighting  heresy. 

By  1 2 14  a  few  sympathetic  spirits  from  various  parts  of 
Europe  had  joined  Dominic,  and  they  asked  Innocent  HI  to 
sanction  their  new  order.  The  Pope  again  hesitated,  but  is 
said  to  have  dreamed  a  dream  in  which  he  saw  the  great  Roman 
Church  of  the  Lateran  tottering  and  ready  to  fall  had  not 
Dominic  supported  it  on  his  shoulders.  He  interpreted  this  as 
meaning  that  the  new  organization  might  sometime  become  a 
great  aid  to  the  papacy,  and  gave  it  his  approval.  As  soon  as 
possible  Dominic  sent  forth  his  followers,  of  whom  there  were 
but  sixteen,  to  evangelize  the  world,  just  as  the  Franciscans 
were  undertaking  their  first  missionary  journeys.  By  122 1 
the  Dominican  order  was  thoroughly  organized  and  had  sixty 
monasteries  scattered  over  western  Europe. 

"  Wandering  on  foot  over  the -face  of  Europe,  under  burning 
suns  or  chilling  blasts,  rejecting  alms  in  money  but  receiving 
thankfully  whatever  coarse  food  might  be  set  before  the  way- 
farer, enduring  hunger  in  silent  resignation,  taking  no  thought  for 
the  morrow,  but  busied  eternally  in  the  work  of  snatching  souls 
from  Satan  and  lifting  men  up  from  the  sordid  cares  of  daily 
life" — in  this  way  did  the  early  Franciscans  and  Dominicans 
win  the  love  and  veneration  of  the  people.  ' 

The  Dominicans  were  called  the  "  Preaching  Friars  "  and 
were  carefully  trained  in  theolog}^  in  order  the  better  to  refute 
the  arguments  of  the  heretics.    The  Pope  delegated  to  them 


The  Medieval  Church  at  its  Height  489 

especially  the  task  of  conducting  the  Inquisition.     They  early   Contrast 
began  to  extend  their  influence  over  the  universities,  and  the   rSm^nicans 
two  most  distinguished  theologians  and  teachers  of  the  thirteenth   ^"^  ^^^ 

^  ^  Franciscans 

century,  Albertus  Magnus  and  Thomas  Aquinas,  were  Domini- 
cans. Among  the  Franciscans,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was 
always  a  considerable  party  who  were  suspicious  of  learning 
and  who  showed  a  greater  desire  to  remain  absolutely  poor  than 
did  the  Dominicans.  Yet  as  a  whole  the  Franciscans,  like  the 
Dominicans,  accepted  the  wealth  that  came  to  them,  and  they 
too  contributed  distinguished  scholars  to  the  universities. 


Section  86.    Church  and  State 

We   have    seen    that   the    Medieval   Church   was   a    single   The  state 
great   institution   with  its   head,  the   Pope,  at   Rome   and   its   aided  the  ^" 
officers  in  all  the  countries  of  western  Europe.   It  had  its  laws,   Church, 

^  '    and  the 

law  courts,  taxes,  and  even  prisons,  just  like  the  various  kings  churchmen 
and  other  rulers.  In  general,  the  kings  were  ready  to  punish  government 
every  one  who  revolted  against  the  Church.  Indeed,  the  State  de- 
pended upon  the  churchmen  in  many  ways.  It  was  the  church- 
men who  wrote  out  the  documents  which  the  king  required ; 
they  took  care  of  the  schools,  aided  the  poor,  and  protected  the 
weak.  They  tried,  by  issuing  the  Truce  of  God,  to  discourage 
neighborhood  warfare,  which  the  kings  were  unable  to  stop. 

But  as    the    period   of   disorder   drew   to   an   end   and    the   Chief  sources 
kings  and  other  rulers  got  the  better  of  the  feudal  lords  and   betw-een"  ^^ 
established   peace   in   their  realms,   they  began   to   think   that   ^^^l^^  ^""^ 
the  Church  had  become  too  powerful  and  too  rich.    Certain 
difficulties  arose  of  which  the  following  were  the  most  important : 

I.  Should  the  king  or  the  Pope  have  the  advantage  of  select-  Filling 
ing  the  bishops  and  the  abbots  of  rich  monasteries  ?  Naturally 
both  were  anxious  to  place  their  friends  and  supporters  in  these 
influential  positions.  Moreover,  the  Pope  could  claim  a  con- 
siderable contribution  from  those  whom  he  appointed,  and  the 
king  naturally  grudged  him  the  money. 


490 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Taxing  of 

church 

property 


Church 
courts 


Right  of  the 
Pope  to  in- 
terfere in  the 
government 


Edward  I  and 
Philip  the 
Fair  attempt 
to  tax  the 
clergy 


2.  How  far  might  the  king  venture  to  tax  the  lands  and  other 
property  of  the  Church  ?  Was  this  vast  amount  of  wealth  to  go 
on  increasing  and  yet  make  no  contribution  to  the  support  of 
the  government  ?  The  churchmen  usually  maintained  that  they 
needed  all  their  money  to  carry  on  the  church  services,  keep 
up  the  churches  and  monasteries,  take  care  of  the  schools,  and 
aid  the  poor,  for  the  State  left  them  to  bear  all  these  necessary 
burdens.  The  law  of  the  Church  permitted  the  churchmen  to 
make  voluntary  gifts  to  the  king  when  there  was  urgent  necessity. 

3.  Then  there  was  trouble  over  the  cases  to  be  tried  in  the 
church  courts  and  the  claim  of  churchmen  to  be  tried  only  by 
clergymen.  Worst  of  all  was  the  habit  of  appealing  cases  to 
Rome,  for  the  Pope  would  often  decide  the  matter  in  exactly 
the  opposite  way  from  which  the  king's  court  had  decided  it. 

4.  Lastly  there  was  the  question  of  how  far  the  Pope  as  head 
of  the  Christian  Church  had  a  right  to  interfere  with  the  govern- 
ment of  a  particular  state,  when  he  did  not  approve  of  the  way 
in  which  a  king  was  acting.  The  powers  of  the  Pope  were  very 
great,  every  one  admitted,  but  even  the  most  devout  Catholics 
differed  somewhat  as  to  just  how  great  they  were. 

We  have  seen  some  illustrations  of  these  troubles  in  the 
chapter  on  the  Popes  and  Emperors.  A  famous  conflict  between 
the  king  of  France,  Philip  the  Fair,  and  Pope  Boniface  VTII, 
about  the  year  1300,  had  important  results.  Philip  and  Edward  I 
of  England,  who  were  reigning  at  the  same  time,  had  got  into  the 
habit  of  taxing  the  churchmen  as  they  did  their  other  subjects. 

It  was  natural  after  a  monarch  had  squeezed  all  that  he  could 
out  of  the  Jews  and  the  towns,  and  had  exacted  every  possible 
feudal  due,  that  he  should  turn  to  the  rich  estates  of  the  clergy, 
in  spite  of  their  claim  that  their  property  was  dedicated  to  God 
and  owed  the  king  nothing.  The  extensive  enterprises  of 
Edward  I  (see  above,  pp.  422  ff.)  led  him  in  1296  to  demand 
one  fifth  of  the  personal  property  of  the  clergy.  Philip  the  Fair 
exacted  one  hundredth  and  then  one  fiftieth  of  the  possessions 
of  clergy  and  laity  alike. 


The  Medieval  CJuircJi  at  its  Height  491 

Against  this  impartial  system  Boniface  protested  in  the  famous   The  bull, 
bull,  Clericis  laicos  (1296).    He  claimed  that  the  laity  had  always   of^Boniface""^' 
been  exceedingly  hostile  to  the  clergy,  and  that  the  rulers  were   '^  iii>  1296 
now  exhibiting  this  hostility  by  imposing  heavy  burdens  upon 
the  Church,  forgetting  that  they  had  no  control  over  the  clergy' 
and  their  possessions.    The  Pope,  therefore,  forbade  all  church- 
men, including  the  monks,  to  pay,  without  his  consent,  to  a  king 
or  ruler  any  part  of  the  Church's  revenue  or  possessions  upon 
any  pretext  whatsoever.     He  likewise  forbade  the  kings  and 
princes  under  pain  of  excommunication  to  presume  to  exact 
any  such  payments. 

It  happened  that  just  as  the  Pope  was  prohibiting  the  clergy   Boniface 
from  contributing  to  the  taxes,  Philip  the  Fair  had  forbidden   u^te/right 
the  exportation  of  all  gold  and  silver  from  the  country.    In  that  J.^^Jhmen 
way  he  cut  off  an  important  source  of  the  Pope's  revenue,  for 
the  Church  of  France  could  obviously  no  longer  send  anything 
to  Rome.  The  Pope  was  forced  to  give  up  his  extreme  claims. 
He  explained  the  following  year  that  he  had  not  meant  to  inter- 
fere with  the  payment  on  the  clergy's  part  of  customary  feudal 
dues  nor  with  their  loans  of  money  to  the  king.^ 

In  spite  of  this  setback,  the  Pope  never  seemed  more  com-  The  jubilee 
pletely  the  recognized  head  of  the  western  world  than  during 
the  first  great  jubilee,  in  the  year  1300,  when  Boniface  called 
together  all  Christendom  to  celebrate  the  opening  of  the  new 
centur}'  by  a  great  religious  festival  at  Rome.  It  is  reported 
that  two  millions  of  people,  coming  from  all  parts  of  Europe, 
visited  the  churches  of  Rome,  and  that  in  spite  of  widening  the 
streets,  many  were  crushed  in  the  crowd.  So  great  was  the 
influx  of  money  into  the  papal  treasury  that  two  assistants  were 
kept  busy  with  rakes  collecting  the  offerings  which  were  deposited 
at  the  tomb  of  St.  Peter. 

Boniface  was^  however,  very  soon  to  realize  that  even  if 
Christendom  regarded  Rome  as  its  religious  center,  the  na- 
tions would  not  accept  him  as  their  political  head.     When  he 

1  See  Readings,  chap.  xxi. 


492 


Ontluies  of  European  History 


The  Estates 
General  of 
1302 


Death  of 
Boniface, 
1303 


dispatched  an  obnoxious  prelate  to  Philip  the  Fair,  ordering  him 
to  free  a  certain  nobleman  whom  he  was  holding  prisoner,  the 
king  declared  the  harsh  language  of  the  papal  envoy  to  be  high 
treason  and  sent  one  of  his  lawyers  to  the  Pope  to  demand 
that  the  messenger  be  punished. 

Philip  was  surrounded  by  a  body  of  lawyers,  and  it  would 
seem  that  they,  rather  than  the  king,  were  the  real  rulers  of 
France.  They  had,  through  their  study  of  Roman  law,  learned 
to  admire  the  absolute  power  exercised  by  the  Roman  Emperor. 
To  them  the  civil  government  was  supreme,  and  they  urged 
the  king  to  punish  what  they  regarded  as  the  insolent  conduct 
of  the  Pope.  Before  taking  any  action  against  the  head  of  the 
Church,  Philip  called  together  the  Estates  General,  including  not 
only  the  clergy  and  the  nobility  but  the  people  of  the  towns  as 
well.  The  Estates  General,  after  hearing  a  statement  of  the  case 
from  one  of  Philip's  lawyers,  agreed  to  support  their  monarch. 

Nogaret,  one  of  the  chief  legal  advisers  of  the  king,  undertook 
to  face  the  Pope.  He  collected  a  little  troop  of  soldiers  in  Italy 
and  marched  against  Boniface,  who  was  sojourning  at  Anagni, 
where  his  predecessors  had  excommunicated  two  emperors, 
Frederick  Barbarossa  and  Frederick  II.  As  Boniface,  in  his 
turn,  was  preparing  solemnly  to  proclaim  the  king  of  France 
an  outcast  from  the  Church,  Nogaret  penetrated  into  the  papal 
palace  with  his  soldiers  and  heaped  insults  upon  the  helpless 
but  defiant  old  man.  The  townspeople  forced  Nogaret  to  leave 
the  next  day,  but  Boniface's  spirit  was  broken  and  he  soon  died 
at  Rome. 

King  Philip  now  proposed  to  have  no  more  trouble  with 
popes.  He  arranged  in  1305  to  have  the  Archbishop  of  Bor- 
deaux chosen  head  of  the  Church,  with  the  understanding 
that  he  should  transfer  the  papacy  to  France.  The  new  Pope 
accordingly  summoned  the  cardinals  to  meet  him  at  Lyons, 
where  he  was  crowned  under  the  title  of  "  Clement  V."  He 
remained  in  France  during  his  whole  pontificate,  moving  from 
one  rich  abbey  to  another. 


The  Medieval  Church  at  its  Height  493 

At  Philip's  command  he  reluctantly  undertook  a  sort  of  trial 
of  the  deceased  Boniface  VIII,  who  was  accused  by  the  king's 
lawyers  of  all  sorts  of  abominable  crimes.  Then,  to  please  the 
king,  Clement  brought  the  Templars  to  trial ;  ^  the  order  was 
abolished,  and  its  possessions  in  France,  for  which  the  king 
had  longed,  were  confiscated.  Obviously  it  proved  very  advanta- 
geous to  the  king  to  have  a  Pope  within  his  realm.  Clement  V 
died  in  13 14. 

His   successors    took    up    their    residence    in    the    town   of  The  popes 
Avignon,  just  outside  the  French  frontier  of  those  days.    There   resfdence  at'^ 
they  built  a  sumptuous  palace  in  which  successive  popes  lived   ^^ignon 
in  great  splendor  for  sixty  years. 

The  prolonged  exile  of  the  popes  from  Rome,  lasting  from   The  Babylo- 
1305  to  1377,  is  commonly  called  the  Babylonian  Captivity"  of   hv^  of  th?^^' 
the  Church,  on  account  of  the  woes  attributed  to  it.   The  popes   *^hurch 
of  this  period  were  for  the  most  part  good  and  earnest  men ; 
but  they  were  all  Frenchmen,  and  the  proximity  of  their  court  to 
France  led  to  the  natural  suspicion  that  they  were  controlled 
by  the  French  kings.    This,  together  with  their  luxurious  court, 
brought  them  into  discredit  with  the  other  nations.^ 

At  Avignon  the  popes  were  naturally  deprived  of  some  of  the  The  papal 
revenue  which  they  had  enjoyed  from  their  Italian  possessions 
when  they  lived  at  Rome.  This  deficiency  had  to  be  made  up 
by  increased  taxation,  especially  as  the  expenses  of  the  splendid 
papal  court  were  very  heavy.  The  papacy  was,  consequently, 
rendered  unpopular  by  the  methods  employed  to  raise  money. 

The  papal  exactions  met  with  the   greatest  opposition  in   Statute  of 
England  because  the  popes  were  thought  to  favor  France,  with   P™^^^^'^^' 
which  country  the  English  were  at  war.    A  law  was  passed  by 
Parliament  in   1352,  ordering  that  all  who  procured  a  church 
office  from  the  Pope  should  be  outlawed,  since  they  were  ene- 
mies of  the  king  and  his  realm.    This  and  similar  laws  failed, 

1  See  above,  p.  469. 

2  The  name  recalled,  of  course,  the  long  exile  of  the  Jews  from  their  land. 

3  See  Readings^  chap.  xxi. 


494 


Oiitlijics  of  Europcati  History 


however,  to  prevent  the  Pope  from  filling  English  benefices. 
The  English  king  was  unable  to  keep  the  money  of  his  realm 


m^-pt^st^  of  pf  UuD'tttf  M* 

t^H^  of  jjaiamjct  tut*  tttmatooa 

wti  tm^tm^iut  to  litTit*  allf  f  c 
mmtot  fair- 1  t»ami>aptt«8<tf 

<atticotm  B&xnacfafmi^m^Unt 


gti{^ti.<rjcurf|}ar&iifrtbrt;'a»    , 
pf  ft  of  ttAitiec-  fern  fpmanfaao 


pffttjfsrAitiec- 

fitttoOB  ijts  b«r(nr.-i:ftt&mgt  net 
ti>0ta  ro  pc  cec  s^eutU.  pet  v&tcm 
^Jv(d}€m^Jita  utas  cnipto  baa)?' 
^me  ^ccaftiniifrT  ccbal  make 
<^uto]3t  tiiffljefipCDbcqJs  of  ttiair, 

Owf  taalnagr  urtii«J(itt69?ia)n 
j4>cdcntbcbe»u-iCtio  54>t«c^)«'fe' 

atioon  tn  ^  fabotp^  ucgtm^itt 
to  pf  fi^uQcrogirtAi^^eai.  »tii> 


Fig.  177.   Page  from  Wycliffe's   Translation  of  the  Bible 

This  is  the  upper  half  of  the  first  page  of  the  Gospel  according  to  Mark 
and  contains  verses  1-7  and  15-23.  The  scribe  of  the  time  made  t,  y, 
and  M  in  something  the  same  way.  The  page  begins :  "  The  bigyn- 
ninge  of  the  gospel  of  ihusu  crist,  the  sone  of  god.  As  it  is  writen  in 
isaie,  the  prophete,  Loo,  I  send  myn  aungel  bifore  thi  face,  that  schal 
make  thi  weie  redi  bifore  thee.  The  voice  of  one  crying  in  deseert, 
make  thee  redi  the  weie  of  the  lord,  make  thee  his  pathis  ryghtful. 
Joon  was  in  deseert  baptizinge  and  prechinge  the  baptism  of  penaunce 
in  to  remissioun  of  sinnes."  While  the  spelUng  is  somewhat  different 
from  ours  it  is  clear  that  the  language  used  by  Wycliffe  closely  resembled 
that  used  in  the  familiar  authorized  version  of  the  New  Testament,  made 
two  centuries  and  a  half  later 


from  flowing  to  Avignon,  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  English 
Parliament  held  in  1376  a  report  was  made  to  the  effect  that 
the  taxes  levied  by  the  Pope  in  England  were  five  times  those 
raised  by  the  king. 


The  Medieval  CJmrcJi  at  its  Height  495 

The  most  famous  and  conspicuous  critic  of  the  Pope  at  this  John 
time  was  John  Wycliffe,  a  teacher  at  Oxford.  He  was  born  ^^>'^'^^^ 
about  1320,  but  we  know  little  of  him  before  1366,  when 
Urban  V  demanded  that  England  should  pay  the  tribute  prom- 
ised by  King  John  when  he  became  the  Pope's  vassal.^  Parlia- 
ment declared  that  John  had  no  right  to  bind  the  people 
without  their  consent,  and  Wycliffe  began  his  career  of  oppo- 
sition to  the  papacy  by  trying  to  prove  that  John's  agreement 
was  void.  About  ten  years  later  we  find  the  Pope  issuing  bulls 
against  the  teachings  of  Wycliffe,  who  had  begun  to  assert  that 
the  State  might  appropriate  the  property  of  the  Church,  if  it 
was  misused,  and  that  the  Pope  had  no  authority  except  as  he 
acted  according  to  the  Gospels.  Soon  Wycliffe  went  further 
and  boldly  attacked  the  papacy  itself,  as  well  as  many  of  the 
Church  institutions. 

Wycliffe 's  anxiety  to  teach  the  people  led  him  to  have  the   Wycliffe  the 
Bible  translated  into  English.    He  also  prepared  a  great  num-   EnglLh 
ber  of  sermons  and  tracts  in  English.     He  is  the  father  of  P""^^^ 
English  prose,^  for  we  have  little  in  English  before  his  time, 
except  poetry. 

Wycliffe  and  his  "  simple  priests  "  were  charged  with  encour-  influence  of 
aging  the  discontent  and  disorder  which  culminated  in  the  teaching^ 
Peasants'  Rebellion.^  Whether  this  charge  was  true  or  not,  it 
caused  many  of  his  followers  to  fall  away  from  him.  But  in  spite 
of  this  and  the  denunciations  of  the  Church,  Wycliffe  was  not 
seriously  interfered  with  and  died  peaceably  in  1384.  Wycliffe 
is  remarkable  as  being  the  first  distinguished  scholar  and  re- 
former to  repudiate  the  headship  of  the  Pope  and  those  prac- 
tices of  the  Church  of  Rome  which  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
after  his  death  were  attacked  by  Luther  in  his  successful  re- 
volt against  the  Medieval  Church.  This  will  be  discussed  in  a 
later  chapter. 


1  See  above,  p.  418.  2  For  extracts,  see  A'eacfings,  chap.  xxi. 

3  See  above,  p.  430. 


496  Outlines  of  European  History 

QUESTIONS 

Section  83.  In  what  ways  did  the  Medieval  Church  differ  from 
the  modern  churches  with  which  we  are  familiar?  In  what  ways  did 
the  Medieval  Church  resemble  a  State  ?  What  were  the  powers  of  the 
Pope  ?  What  were  the  duties  of  a  bishop  in  the  Middle  Ages  ?  Why" 
was  the  clergy  the  most  powerful  class  in  the  Middle  Ages  ? 

Section  84.  What  were  the  views  of  the  Waldensians  ?  of  the 
Albigensians ?    What  was  the  Inquisition  ? 

Section  85.  Narrate  briefly  the  life  of  St.  Francis.  Did  the 
Franciscan  order  continue  to  follow  the  wishes  of  its  founder.'' 
Contrast  the  Dominicans  with  the  Franciscans. 

Section  86.  What  were  the  chief  subjects  of  disagreement 
between  the  Church  and  the  State  1  Describe  the  conflict  between 
Boniface  VIII  and  Philip  the  Fair.  How  did  the  Babylonian 
Captivity  come  about?  What  were  some  of  the  results  of  the 
sojourn  of  the  popes  at  Avignon  ?  What  were  the  views  of  John 
Wycliffe  ? 


CHAPTER  XXI 
MEDIEVAL  TOWNS -THEIR  BUSINESS   AND  BUILDINGS 

Section  87.    The  Towns  and  Guilds 

In  discussing  the  Middle  Ages  we  have  hitherto  dealt  mainly 
with  kings  and  emperors,  and  with  the  popes  and  the  Church 
of  which  they  were  the  chief  rulers ;  we  have  also  described  the 
monks  and  monasteries,  the  warlike  feudal  lords  and  their  castles, 
and  the  hard-working  serfs  who  farmed  the  manors  ;  but  nothing 
has  been  said  about  the  people  who  lived  in  the  towns. 

Towns  have,  however,  always  been  the  chief  centers  of  Towns  the 
progress  and  enlightenment,  for  the  simple  reason  that  people 
must  live  close  together  in  large  numbers  before  they  can 
develop  business  on  a  large  scale,  carry  on  trade  with  foreign 
countries,  establish  good  schools  and  universities,  erect  noble 
public  buildings,  support  libraries  and  museums  and  art  galleries. 
One  does  not  find  these  in  the  country,  for  the  people  outside 
the  towns  are  too  scattered  and  usually  too  poor  to  have  the 
things  that  are  common  enough  in  large  cities. 

One  of  the  chief  peculiarities  of  the  early  Middle  Ages,  from 
the  break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire  to  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror,  was  the  absence  of  large  and  flourishing  towns  in 
western  Europe,  and  this  fact  alone  would  serve  to  explain  why 
there  was  so  little  progress. 

^  497 


chief  centers 
of  progress 


498 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Unimpor- 
tance of 
town  life  in 
the  early 
Middle  Ages 


Reappear- 
ance of 
towns  in  the 
eleventh 
century 


Origin  of  the 

medieval 

towns 


Compactness 
of  a  medi- 
eval town 


The  Roman  towns  were  decreasing  in  population  before  the 
German  inroads.  The  confusion  which  followed  the  invasions 
hastened  their  decline,  and  a  great  number  of  them  disappeared 
altogether.  Those  which  survived  and  such  new  towns  as  sprang 
up  were,  to  judge  from  the  chronicles,  of  very  little  importance 
during  the  early  Middle  Ages.  We  may  assume,  therefore,  that 
during  the  long  period  from  Theodoric  to  Frederick  Barbarossa 
by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  population  of  England,  Germany, 
and  northern  and  central  France  were  living  in  the  country, 
on  the  great  estates  belonging  to  the  feudal  lords,  abbots, 
and  bishops.^ 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  the  gradual  reappear- 
ance of  town  life  in  western  Europe  is  of  the  greatest  interest  to 
the  student  of  history.  The  cities  had  been  the  centers  of  Greek 
and  Roman  civilization,  and  in  our  own  time  they  dominate  the 
life,  culture,  and  business  enterprise  of  the  world.  Were  they 
to  disappear,  our  whole  life,  even  in  the  country,  would  neces- 
sarily undergo  a  profound  change  and  tend  to  become  primitive 
again,  like  that  of  the  age  of  Charlemagne. 

A  great  part  of  the  medieval  towns,  of  which  we  begin  to 
have  some  scanty  records  about  the  year  looo,  appear  to  have 
originated  on  the  manors  of  feudal  lords  or  about  a  monastery 
or  castle.  The  French  name  for  town,  ville,  is  derived  from 
"  vill,"  the  name  of  the  manor,  and  we  use  this  old  Roman  word 
when  we  call  a  town  JacksonTy///^  or  Flarris?-///^.  The  need  of 
protection  was  probably  the  usual  reason  for  establishing  a  town 
with  walls  about  it,  so  that  the  townspeople  and  the  neighbor- 
ing country  people  might  find  safety  within  it  when  attacked  by 
neighboring  feudal  lords  (Fig.  178). 

The  way  in  which  a  medieval  town  was  built  seems  to  justify 
this  conclusion.  It  was  generally  crowded  and  compact  com- 
pared with  its  more  luxurious  Roman  predecessors.  Aside  from 
the  market  place  there  were  few  or  no  open  spaces.     There 


1  In  Italy  and  southern  France  town  life  was  doubtless  more  general  than  in 
northern  Europe. 


Medieval  Toivns  —  tJieii'  Btisiiiess  and  Buildijurs 


499 


were  no  amphitheaters  or  public  baths  as  in  the  Roman  cities. 
The  streets  were  often  mere  alleys  over  which  the  jutting  stories 
of  the  high  houses  almost  met.  The  high,  thick  wall  that  sur- 
rounded it  prevented  its  extending  easily  and  rapidly  as  our 
cities  do  nowadays   (see  headpiece  and  Figs.   179,  208). 


';^^  ^  a-'', - 


TtS^.^<^^- 


Fig.  178.  A  Castle  with  a  Village  below  it 

A  village  was  pretty  sure  to  grow  up  near  the  castle  of  a  powerful  lord 
and  might  gradually  become  a  large  town 

All  towns  outside  of  Italy  were  small  in  the  eleventh  and   Townsmen 
twelfth  centuries,    and,    like   the   manors   on   which   they   had   serfs"^  ^ 
grown  up,  they  had  little  commerce  as  yet  with  the  outside 
world.    They  produced  almost  all  that  their  inhabitants  needed 
except  the   farm  products  which  came  from  the  neighboring 
country.    There  was  likely  to  be  little  expansion  as  long  as  the 


500 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Increase  of 
trade  pro- 
motes the 
growth  of 
the  towns 


Town 
charters 


town  remained  under  the  absolute  control  of  the  lord  or  monas- 
tery upon  whose  land  it  was  situated.  The  townspeople  were 
scarcely  more  than  serfs,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  lived 
within  a  wall  and  were  traders  and  artisans  instead  of  farmers. 
They  had  to  pay  irritating  dues  to  their  lord,  just  as  if  they  still 
formed  a  farming  community. 

With  the  increase  of  trade  (see  following  section)  came  the 
longing  for  greater  freedom.  For  when  new  and  attractive  com- 
modities began  to  be  brought  from  the  East  and  the  South,  the 
people  of  the  towns  were  encouraged  to  make  things  which 
they  could  exchange  at  some  neighboring  fair  for  the  products 
of  distant  lands.  But  no  sooner  did  the  townsmen  begin  to  en- 
gage in  manufacturing  and  to  enter  into  relations  with  the  out- 
side world  than  they  became  conscious  that  they  were  subject  to 
exactions  and  restrictions  which  rendered  progress  impossible. 

Consequently,  during  the  twelfth  century  there  were  many 
insurrections  of  the  towns  against  their  lords  and  a  general 
demand  that  the  lords  should  grant  the  townsmen  charters 
in  which  the  rights  of  both  parties  should  be  definitely  stated. 
These  charters  were  written  contracts  between  the  lord  and  the 
town  government,  which  served  at  once  as  the  certificate  of  birth 
of  the  town  and  as  its  constitution.  The  old  dues  and  services 
which  the  townspeople  owed  as  serfs  (see  above,  section  65) 
were  either  abolished  or  changed  into  money  payments. 

As  a  visible  sign  of  their  freedom,  many  of  the  towns  had  a 
belfry,  a  high  building  with  a  watchtower,  where  a  guard  was 
kept  day  and  night  in  order  that  the  bell  might  be  rung  in  case 
of  approaching  danger.^  It  contained  an  assembly  hall,  where 
those  who  governed  the  town  held  their  meetings,  and  a  prison. 
In  the  fourteenth  century  the  wonderful  town  halls  began  to  be 
erected,  which,  with  the  exception  of  the  cathedrals  and  other 
churches,  are  usually  the  most  remarkable  buildings  which  the 
traveler  sees  to-day  in  the  old  commercial  cities  of  Europe. 

1  At  the  beginning  of  this  chapter  there  is  a  picture  of  the  town  of  Siegen 
in  Germany,  as  it  formerly  looked,  with  its  walls  and  towers. 


Fig.  179.   Street  in  Quimper,  Franxe 

None  of  the  streets  in  even  the  oldest  European  towns  look  just  as 
they  did  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  but  here  and  there, 
as  in  this  town  of  Brittany,  one  can  still  get  some  idea  of  the  narrow, 
cramped  streets  and  overhanging  houses  and  the  beautiful  cathedral 
crowded  in  among  them 


501 


system 


502  Ontliiu's  of  Ruropcan  Histoiy 

Craft  guilds  The  tradesmen  in  the  medieval  towns  were  at  once  manu- 

facturers and  merchants ;  that  is,  they  made,  as  well  as  offered 
for  sale,  the  articles  which  they  kept  in  their  shops.  Those  who 
belonged  to  a  particular  trade  —  the  bakers,  the  butchers,  the 
sword  makers,  the  armorers,  etc.  —  formed  unions  or  guilds  to 
protect  their  special  interests.  The  oldest  statutes  of  a  guild 
in  Paris  are  those  of  the  candle  makers,  which  go  back  to  1061. 
The  number  of  trades  differed  greatly  in  different  towns,  but 
the  guilds  all  had  the  same  object  —  to  prevent  any  one 
from  practicing  a  trade  who  had  not  been  duly  admitted  to 
the  union. 

The  guild  A  young  man  had  to  spend  several  years  in  learning  his  trade. 

During  this  time  he  lived  in  the  house  of  a  "master  workman  "  as 
an  "  apprentice,"  but  received  no  remuneration.  He  then  became 
a  "  journeyman  "  and  could  earn  wages,  although  he  was  still 
allowed  to  work  only  for  master  workmen  and  not  directly  for 
the  public.  A  simple  trade  might  be  learned  in  three  years,  but 
to  become  a  goldsmith  one  must  be  an  apprentice  for  ten  years. 
The  number  of  apprentices  that  a  master  workman  might  employ 
was  strictly  limited,  in  order  that  the  journeymen  might  not  be- 
come too  numerous. 

.  The  way  in  which  each  trade  was  to  be  practiced  was  care- 
fully regulated,  as  well  as  the  time  that  should  be  spent  in  v/ork 
each  day.  The  system  of  guilds  discouraged  enterprise  but  main- 
tained uniform  standards  everywhere.  Had  it  not  been  for 
these  unions,  the  defenseless,  isolated  workmen,  serfs  as  they 
had  formerly  been,  would  have  found  it  impossible  to  secure 
freedom  and  municipal  independence  from  the  feudal  lords 
who  had  formerlv  been  their  masters. 


Section  88.    Business  in  the  Later  Middle  Ages 

The  chief  reason  for  the  growth  of  the  towns  and  their  in- 
creasing prosperity  was  a  great  development  of  trade  throughout 
western  Europe.    Commerce  had  pretty  much  disappeared  with 


Medieval  Towns — tJieb'  Business  eind  Buildings    503 

the  dec'ine  of  the  Roman  roads  and  the  general  disorganization  Practical  dis- 
produced  by  the  barbarian  invasions.  In  the  early  Middle  Ages  of  Commerce 
there  was  no  one  to  mend  the  ancient  Roman  roads.    The  great   1." .  j^f,  ^^.""'y 

^  Middle  Ages 

network  of  highways  from  Persia  to  Britain  fell  apart  when  inde- 
pendent nobles  or  poor  local  communities  took  the  place  of  a 
world  empire.  All  trade  languished,  for  there  was  little  demand 
for  those  articles  of  luxur)^  which  the  Roman  communities  in  the 
North  had  been  accustomed  to  obtain  from  the  South,  and  there 
was  but  little  money  to  buy  what  we  should  consider  the  com- 
forts of  life ;  even  the  nobility  lived  uncomfortably  enough  in 
their  dreary  and  rudely  furnished  castles. 

In  Italy,  however,  trade  does  not  seem  to  have  altogether  Italian  cities 
ceased.  A^enice,  Genoa,  Amalfi,  and  other  towns  appear  to  have  tffe  Orient 
developed  a  considerable  Mediterranean  commerce  even  before 
the  Crusades  (see  map  above,  p.  454).  Their  merchants,  as  we 
have  seen,  supplied  the  destitute  crusaders  with  the  material 
necessary  for  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem  (see  above,  p.  466). 
The  passion  for  pilgrimages  offered  inducements  to  the  Italian 
merchants  for  expeditions  to  the  Orient,  whither  they  transported 
the  pilgrims  and  returned  with  the  products  of  the  East.  The 
Italian  cities  established  trading  stations  in  the  East  and  carried 
on  a  direct  traffic  with  the  caravans  which  brought  to  the  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean  the  products  of  Arabia,  Persia,  India,  and 
the  Spice  Islands.  The  southern  French  towns  and  Barcelona 
entered  also  into  commercial  relations  with  the  Mohammedans 
in  northern  Africa. 

This  progress  in  the  South  could  not  but  stir  the  lethargy  of  Commerce 
the  rest  of  Europe,  \^'hen  commerce  began  to  revive,  it  encour-  industry 
aged  a  revolution  in  industry.  So  long  as  the  manor  system 
prevailed  and  each  man  was  occupied  in  producing  only  what 
he  and  the  other  people  on  the  estate  needed,  there  was  nothing 
to  send  abroad  and  nothing  to  exchange  for  luxuries.  But  when 
merchants  began  to  come  with  tempting  articles,  the  members  of 
a  community  were  encouraged  to  produce  a  surplus  of  goods 
above  what  they  themselves  needed,  and  to  sell  or  exchange  this 


504 


Outli)ics  of  Enropeaji  History 


The  luxuries 
of  the  East 
introduced 
into  Europe 


Some  of  the 

important 

commercial 


Obstacles  to 
business 


Lack  of 
money 


surplus  for  commodities  coming  from  a  distance.  Merchants  and 
artisans  gradually  directed  their  energies  toward  the  production 
of  what  others  wished  as  well  as  what  was  needed  by  the  little 
group  to  which  they  belonged. 

The  romances  of  the  twelfth  century  indicate  that  the  West 
was  astonished  and  delighted  by  the  luxuries  of  the  East  —  the 
rich  fabrics,  oriental  carpets,  precious  stones,  perfumes,  drugs, 
silks,  and  porcelains  from  China,  spices  from  India,  and  cotton 
from  Egypt.  Venice  introduced  the  silk  industry  from  the  East 
and  the  manufacture  of  those  glass  articles  which  the  traveler 
may  still  buy  in  the  Venetian  shops.  The  West  learned  how 
to  make  silk  and  velvet  as  well  as  light  and  gauzy  cotton  and 
linen  fabrics.  The  Eastern  dyes  were  introduced,  and  Paris  w-as 
soon  imitating  the  tapestries  of  the  Saracens.  In  exchange  for 
those  luxuries  which  they  were  unable  to  produce,  the  Flemish 
towns  sent  their  woolen  cloths  to  the  East,  and  Italy  its  wines. 

The  .Northern  merchants  dealt  mainly  with  Venice  and  brought 
their  wares  across  the  Brenner  Pass  and  down  the  Rhine,  or 
sent  them  by  sea  to  be  exchanged  in  Flanders  (see  map).  By 
the  thirteenth  century  important  centers  of  trade  had  come 
into  being,  some  of  which  are  still  among  the  great  commercial 
towns  of  the  world.  Hamburg,  Liibeck,  and  Bremen  carried  on 
active  trade  with  the  countries  on  the  Baltic  and  with  England. 
Augsburg  and  Nuremberg,  in  the  south  of  Germany,  became  im- 
portant on  account  of  their  situation  on  the  line  of  trade  between 
Italy  and  the  North.  Bruges  and  Ghent  sent  their  manufactures 
everywhere.  English  commerce  was  relatively  unimportant  as 
yet  compared  with  that  of  the  great  ports  of  the  Mediterranean. 

It  was  very  difficult  indeed  to  carry  on  business  on  a  large 
scale  in  the  Middle  Ages,  for  various  reasons.  In  the  first  place, 
as  has  been  said,  there  was  little  money,  and  money  is  essential 
to  buying  and  selling,  unless  people  confine  themselves  merely 
to  exchanging  one  article  for  another.  There  were  few  gold  and 
silver  mines  in  western  Europe  and  consequently  the  kings  and 
feudal  lords  could  not  supply  enough  coin.    Moreover,  the  coins 


jJRiga 


^ 


°^vgoro4 


C    K        S    E 


jCntitior^e 


f^^^asH^ 


ClT^^!^^ 


bBey 


TOtt* 


Me.'v-^ 


^     1^ 


ENS.)    BDFTALO. 


0     from         Greenwich 


Medieval  Tozvns — their  Business  an  el  Buildings    505 


were  crude,  with  such  rough,  irregular  edges  (Fig.  180)  that 
many  people  yielded  to  the  temptation  to  pare  off  a  little  of  the 
precious  metal  before  they  passed  the  money  on.  "  Clipping," 
as  this  was  called,  was  harshly  punished,  but  that  did  not  stop 
the  practice,  which  continued  for  hundreds  of  years.  Nowadays 
our  coins  are 
perfectly  round 
and  often  have 
"milled"  edges, 
so  that  no  one 
would  think  of 
trying  to  appro- 
priate bits  of 
them  as  they 
pass  through 
his    hands. 

It  was  univer- 
sally believed 
that  everything 
had  a  "  just  " 
price,  which  was  Fig.  180.    Medieval  Coins 

^  &       The  two  upper  coins  reproduce  the  face  and  back  of 

to  cover  the  a  silver  penny  of  William  the  Conqueror's  reign,  and 
cost  of  the  ma-  below  is  a  silver  groat  of  Edward  III.  The  same  ir- 
^     .  ,  1    .       regularities  in  outline  will  be  noted  in  the  ancient 

terials    used   m  ^^.^^  represented  in  Fig.  77 

its  manufacture 

and  to  remunerate  the  maker  for  the  work  he  had  put  into  it. 
It  was  considered  outrageous  to  ask  more  than  the  just  price,  no 
matter  how  anxious  the  purchaser  might  be  to  obtain  the  article. 
Every  manufacturer  was  required  to  keep  a  shop  in  which  he 
offered  at  retail  all  that  he  made.  Those  who  lived  near  a  town 
were  permitted  to  sell  their  products  in  the  market  place  within 
the  walls  on  condition  that  they  sold  directly  to  the  consumers. 
They  might  not  dispose  of  their  whole  stock  to  one  dealer,  for 
fear  that  if  he  had  all  there  was  of  a  commodity  he  might  raise 


Clipping" 


Difficulties 
in  the  way  of 
wholesale 
trade 


5o6 


Outlines  of  Europe  a }  I  Histoiy 


Payment  of 
interest  on 
money 
forbidden 


The  Jews  as 

money 

lenders 


The  Lom- 
bards as 
bankers 


the  price  above  the  just  one.  These  ideas  made  wholesale  trade 
very  difficult. 

Akin  to  these  prejudices  against  wholesale  business  was  that 
against  interest.  Money  was  believed  to  be  a  dead  and  sterile 
thing,  and  no  one  had  a  right  to  demand  any  return  for  lending 
it.  Interest  was  considered  wicked,  since  it  was  exacted  by  those 
who  took  advantage  of  the  embarrassments  of  others.  "  Usur^-," 
as  the  taking  of  even  the  most  moderate  and  reasonable  rate 
of  interest  was  then  called,  was  strenuously  forbidden  by  the 
laws  of  the  Church.  \\'e  find  church  councils  ordering  that  im- 
penitent usurers  should  be  refused  Christian  burial  and  have 
their  wills  annulled.  So  money  lending,  which  is  necessar)^  to  all 
great  commercial  and  industrial  undertakings,  was  left  to  the 
Jews,  from  whom  Christian  conduct  was  not  expected. 

This  ill-starred  people  played  a  most  important  part  in  the 
economic  development  of  Europe,  but  they  were  terribly  mal- 
treated by  the  Christians,  who  held  them  guilty  of  the  supreme 
crime  of  putting  Christ  to  death.  The  active  persecution  of  the 
Jews  did  not,  however,  become  common  before  the  thirteenth 
century,  when  they  first  began  to  be  required  to  wear  a  peculiar 
cap,  or  badge,  which  made  them  easily  recognized  and  exposed 
them  to  constant  insult.  Later  they  were  sometimes  shut  up 
in  a  particular  quarter  of  the  city,  called  the  Jewr}'.  As  they 
were  excluded  from  the  guilds,  they  not  unnaturally  turned 
to  the  business  of  money  lending,  which  no  Christian  might 
practice.  Undoubtedly  this  occupation  had  much  to  do  in 
causing  their  unpopularity.  The  kings  permitted  them  to  make 
loans,  often  at  a  most  exorbitant  rate ;  Philip  Augustus  allowed 
them  to  exact  forty-six  per  cent,  but  reserved  the  right  to  extort 
their  gains  from  them  when  the  royal  treasury'  was  empty.  In 
England  the  usual  rate  was  a  penny  a  pound  for  each  week. 

In  the  thirteenth  centur\^  the  Italians  —  Lombards,  as  the 
English  called  them  ^  —  began  to  go  into  a  sort  of  banking 


1  There  is  a  Lombard  Street  in  the  center  of  old  London  where  one  still  finds 
banks. 


annoyances 
to  which 
merchants 


Aledieval  Toivns  —  t licit'  Bjisincss  and  Btiilduigs    507 

business  and  greatly  extended  the  employment  of  bills  of  ex- 
change. They  lent  for  nothing,  but  exacted  damages  for  all  de- 
lay in  repayment.  This  appeared  reasonable  and  right  even 
to  those  who  condemned  ordinary  interest. 

Another  serious  disadvantage  which  the  medieval  merchant   Tolls,  duties, 
had  to  face  was  the  payment  of  an  infinite  number  of  tolls  and 
duties  which  were  demanded  by  the  lords  through  whose  domains 
his  road  passed.    Not  only  were  duties  exacted  on  the  highways,   were  sub- 
bridges,  and  at  the  fords,  but  those  barons  who  were  so  fortunate   land 
as  to  have  castles  on  a  navigable  river  blocked  the  stream  in  such 
a  way  that  the  merchant  could  not  bring  his  vessel  through 
without  a  payment  for  the  privilege. 

The  charges  were  usually  small,  but  the  way  in  which  they 
w^ere  collected  and  the  repeated  delays  must  have  been  a  serious 
source  of  irritation  and  loss  to  the  merchants.  For  example,  a 
certain  monastery  lying  between  Paris  and  the  sea  required  that 
those  hastening  to  town  with  fresh  fish  should  stop  and  let  the 
monks  pick  out  what  they  thought  worth  three  pence,  with  little 
regard  to  the  condition  in  which  they  left  the  goods.  When  a 
boat  laden  with  wine  passed  up  the  Seine  to  Paris,  the  agent 
of  the  lord  of  Poissy  could  have  three  casks  broached,  and, 
after  trying  them  all,  he  could  take  a  measure  from  the  one 
he  liked  best.  At  the  markets  all  sorts  of  dues  had  to  be  paid, 
such,  for  example,  as  fees  for  using  the  lord's  scales  or  his 
measuring  rod.  Besides  this,  the  great  variety  of  coinage 
which  existed  in  feudal  Europe  caused  infinite  perplexity  and 
delay. 

Commerce  by  sea  had  its  own  particular  trials,  by  no  means   Dangers 
confined  to  the  hazards  of  wind  and  wave,   rock  and  shoal.     ^  ^^^ 
Pirates  were  numerous  in  the  North  Sea.     The\'  were  often   Pirates 
organized  and  sometimes  led  by  men  of  high  rank,  who  appear 
to  have  regarded  the  business  as  no  disgrace.    The  coasts  were 
dangerous  and  lighthouses  and  beacons  were  few.    Moreover, 
natural  dangers  were  increased  by  false  signals  which  wreckers 
used  to  lure  ships  to  shore  in  order  to  plunder  them. 


5o8 


Outlines  of  Eiwopcaii  History 


Trade  regu- 
lated by 
the  towns 
(thirteenth 
to  fifteenth 
centur)'),  not 
by  nations  or 
individuals 


With  a  view  to  mitigating  these  manifold  perils,  the  towns 
early  began  to  form  unions  for  mutual  defense.  The  most 
famous  of  these  was  that  of  the  German  cities,  called  the 
Hanseatic  League.  Liibeck  was  always  the  leader,  but  among 
the  seventy  towns  which  at  one  time  and  another  were  included 
in  the  confederation,  we  find  Cologne,  Brunswick,  Danzig,  and 
other  centers  of  great  importance.  The  union  purchased  and 
controlled  settlements  in  London,  —  the  so-called  Steelyard  near 
London  Bridge,  —  at  Wisby,  Bergen,  and  the  far-off  Novgorod 
in  Russia.  They  managed  to  monopolize  nearly  the  whole  trade 
on  the  Baltic  and  North  Sea,  either  through  treaties  or  the 
influence  that  they  were  able  to  bring  to  bear.-^ 

The  League  made  war  on  the  pirates  and  did  much  to  reduce 
the  dangers  of  traffic.  Instead  of  dispatching  separate  and 
defenseless  merchantmen,  their  ships  sailed  out  in  fleets  under 
the  protection  of  a  man-of-war.  On  one  occasion  the  League 
undertook  a  successful  war  against  the  king  of  Denmark,  who 
vhad  interfered  with  their  interests.  At  another  time  it  declared 
war  on  England  and  brought  her  to  terms.  For  two  hundred 
years  before  the  discovery  of  America,  the  League  played  a 
great  part  in  the  commercial  affairs  of  western  Europe ;  but  it 
had  begun  to  decline  even  before  the  discover}-  of  new  routes 
to  the  East  and  West  Indies  revolutionized  trade. 

It  should  be  observed  that,  during  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth, 
and  fifteenth  centuries,  trade  was  not  carried  on  between  ?iatio?is, 
but  by  the  various  towns,  like  Venice,  Liibeck,  Ghent,  Bruges, 
Cologne.  A  merchant  did  not  act  or  trade  as  an  independent 
individual  but  as  a  member  of  a  particular  merchant  guild,  and 
he  enjoyed  the  protection  of  his  town  and  of  the  treaties  it 
arranged.  If  a  merchant  from  a  certain  town  failed  to  pay  a 
debt,  a  fellow-townsman  might  be  seized  if  found  in  the  town 
where  the  debt  was  due.  At  the  period  of  which  we  have  been 
speaking,  an  inhabitant  of  London  was  considered  as  much  of 
a  foreigner  in  Bristol  as  was  the  merchant  from  Cologne  or 

1  The  ships  of  the  Hanseatic  League  were  very  small  (see  below,  Fig.  233). 


Medieval  Tozviis  —  tJieii'  BtLsmess  and  Buildings    509 

Antwerp.    Only  gradually  did  the  towns  merge  into  the  nations 
to  which  their  people  belonged. 

The  increasing  wealth  of  the  merchants  could  not  fail  to  raise  The  business 
them  to  a  position  of  importance  which  earlier  tradesmen  had   ^^^Jis^b?^ 
not  enjoyed.    They  began  to  build  fine  houses  and  to  buy  the   ^""""^  .^"  ^"" 
various  comforts  and  luxuries  which  were  finding  their  way  into   class 
western  Europe.    They  wanted  their  sons  to  be  educated,  and 
so  it  came  about  that  other  people  besides  clergymen  began  to 
learn  how  to  read  and  write.   As  early  as  the  fourteenth  century 
many  of  the  books  appear  to  have  been  written  with  a  view  of 
meeting  the  tastes  and  needs  of  the  business  class. 

Representatives  of  the  towns  were  summoned  to  the  councils 
of  the  kings  —  into  the  English  Parliament  and  the  French 
Estates  General  about  the  year  1300,  for  the  monarch  was 
obliged  to  ask  their  advice  when  he  demanded  their  money  to 
carr)'  on  his  government  and  his  wars  (see  above,  p.  422).  The 
rise  of  the  business  class  alongside  of  the  older  orders  of  the 
clergy  and  nobility  is  one  of  the  most  momentous  changes  of 
the  thirteenth  century. 

Section  89.     Gothic  Architecture 

Almost  all  the  medieval  buildings  have  disappeared  in  the   Disappear- 
ancient  towns  of  Europe.    The  stone  town  walls,  no  longer  ade-  me^djevai 
quate  in  our  times,  have  been  removed,  and  their  place  taken  buildings 
by  broad  and  handsome  avenues.    The  old  houses  have  been 
torn  down  in  order  to  widen  and  straighten  the  streets  and 
permit  the  construction  of  modern  dwellings.    Here  and  there 
one  can  still  find  a  walled  town,  but  they  are  few  in  number 
and  are  merely  curiosities  (see  Fig.  208). 

Of  the  buildings  erected  in  towns  during  the  Middle  Ages   The  churches 
only  the  churches  remain,  but  these  fill  the  beholder  with  wonder  survived^ 
and  admiration.     It  seems  impossible   that  the  cities  of  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  which  were  neither  very  large 
nor  very  rich,  could  possibly  find  money  enough  to  pay  for 


5IO 


Outlmcs  of  Eiiropcaji  Ilistofy 


them.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  bishop's  church  at  Paris 
(Notre  Dame)  would  cost  at  least  five  millions  of  dollars  to  re- 
produce, and  there  are  a  number  of  other  cathedrals  in  F^rance, 
England,  Italy,  Spain,  and  Germany  which  must  have  been 
almost  as  costly.    No  modern  buildings  equal  them  in  beauty 


Fig.  i8i.  Romanesque  Church  of  Chatel-Moxtagxe  in  the 
Department  of  Allier,  France 

This  is  a  pure  Romanesque  building  with  no  alterations  in  a  later  style, 
such  as  are  common.  Heavy  as  the  walls  are,  they  are  reenforced  by 
buttresses  along  the  side.   All  the  arches  are  round,  none  of  them  pointed 


and  grandeur,  and  they  are  the  most  striking  memorial  of  the 
religious  spirit  and  the  town  pride  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  construction  of  a  cathedral  sometimes  extended  over  two 
or  three  centuries,  and  much  of  the  money  for  it  must  have 
been  gathered  penny  by  penny.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
every  one  belonged  in  those  days  to  the  one  great  Catholic 
Church,  so  that  the  building  of  a  new  church  was  a  matter  of 


Medieval  Towns 


their  Ihisijiess  and  Buildings 


511 


interes':  to  the  whole  community  —  to  men  of  every  rank,  from 
the  bis-iop  himself  to  the  workman  and  the  peasant. 

Up  to  the  twelfth  century  churches  were  built  in  what  is 
called  the  Romanesque,  or  Roman-like,  style  because  they  re- 
sembled the  solid  old  basilicas  referred  to  in  earlier  chapters 
(see  pp.  47  and  337  above).  These  Romanesque  churches  had 
stone  ceilings  (see  Figs. 
161,  163,  181),  and  it  was 
necessary  to  make  the 
walls  very  thick  and  solid 
to  support  them.  There 
was  a  main  aisle  in  the 
center,  called  the  7iave, 
and  a  narrower  aisle  on 
either  side,  separated 
from  the  nave  by  massive 
stone  pillars,  which  helped 
hold  up  the  heavy  ceiling. 
These  pillars  were  con- 
nected by  round  arches 
of  stone  above  them.  The 
tops  of  the  windows  were 
round,  and  the  ceiling 
was  constructed  of  round 
vaults,  somewhat  like  a 
stone  bridge,  so  the  ?vund 
arches  form   one  of   the 

striking  features  of  the  Romanesque  style  which  distinguishes 
it  from  the  Gothic  style,  that  followed  it.  The  windows  had  to 
be  small  in  order  that  the  walls  should  not  be  weakened,  so  the 
Romanesque  churches  are  rather  dark  inside. 

The  architects  of  France  were  not  satisfied,  however,  with 
this  method  of  building,  and  in  the  twelfth  century  they  invented 
a  new  and  wonderful  way  of  constructing  churches  and  other 
buildings  which  enabled  them  to  do  away  with  the  heavy  walls 


Fig. 


182.   Figures  on  Notre 
Dame,  Paris 


Such  grotesque  figures  as  these  are  very 
common  adornments  of  Gothic  build- 
ings. They  are  often  used  for  spouts  to 
carry  off  the  rain  and  are  called  gar- 
goyles, that  is,  "  throats  "  (compare  our 
words  "gargle"  and  "gurgle").  The 
two  here  represented  are  perched  on  a 
parapet  of  one  of  the  church's  towers 


The  Roman- 
esque style 


The  Gothic 
style 


12 


OiitliNiS  of  Eiiropca}i  Histoty 


Fig.  183.  Cross  Section  of  Amiens 
Cathedral 

It  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  a  row  of 
rather  low  windows  opening  under  the 
roof  of  the  aisle.  These  constitute  the  so- 
called  triforium  (£).  Above  them  is  the 
cUrestory  {F),  the  windows  of  which  open 
between  the  flying  buttresses.  So  it  came 
about  that  the  walls  of  a  Gothic  church 
were  in  fact  mainly  windows.  The  Eg^p- 
tians  were  the  first  to  invent  the  clerestor}- 
(see  p.  4S  and  Fig.  2S) 


and  put  high,  wide, 
graceful  windows  in 
their  place.  This  new 
style  of  architecture  is 
known  as  the  Gothic} 
and  its  underlying  prin- 
ciples can  readily  be 
understood  from  a 
little  study  of  the  ac- 
companying diagram 
(Fig.  183). which  shows 
how  a  Gothic  cathedral 
is  supported,  not  by 
heavy  walls,  but  by 
buttresses. 

The  architects  dis- 
covered in  the  first 
place  that  the  concave 
stone  ceiling,  which  is 
known  as  the  vaulting 
(A\  could  be  supported 
by  ribs  i^B).  These 
could  in  turn  be  brought 
together  and  supported 
on  top  of  pillars  which 

1  The  inappropriate  name 
"  Gothic  "  was  given  to  the 
beautiful  churches  of  the 
North  by  Italian  architects 
of  the  sixteenth  centun-,  who 
did  not  like  them  and  pre- 
ferred to  build  in  the  sr\ie 
of  the  ancient  Romans.  The 
Italians  with  their  '•  classical  " 
tastes  assumed  that  only 
German  barbarians  —  whom 
they  carelessly  called  Goths 
—  could  admire  a  Gothic 
cathedral. 


Fig.  184.   Facade  of  the  Cathedral  at  Rheims 
(Thirteenth  Century) 


'^^P'iSfgS^iJ^ 


Fig.  185.   Rose  Window  of  Rheims  Cathedral,  nearly 
Forty  Feet  in  Diameter,  from  the  Inside 


Fig.  1 86.   Interior  of  Exeter  Cathedral  (Early 
Fourteenth  Century) 


Fic.  187.   North  Porch  of  Chartres  Cathedral 
(Fourteenth  Century) 


Medieval  Tozvns 


their  Business  and  Buildings    5  i 


rested  on  the  floor  of  the  church.  So  far  so  good  !  But  the 
builders  knew  well  enough  that  the  pillars  and  ribs  would  be 
pushed  over  by  the  weight  and  outward  "  thrust "'  of  the  stone 
vaulting  if  they  were  not  firmly  supported  from  the  outside. 
Instead  of  erecting 


«K9?; 


'4m 


heavy  walls  to  insure 
this  support  they 
had  recourse  to  but- 
tresses (D),  which 
they  built  quite  out- 
side the  walls  of  the 
church,  and  con- 
nected them  by 
means  of  "  flying  " 
buttresses  (C)  with 
the  points  where  the 
pillars  and  ribs  had 
the  most  tendency 
to  push  outward.  In 
this  way  a  v  aid  ted 
stone  ceili7ig  coidd 
be  siippO}'ted  without 
the  use  of  a  massive 
wall.  This  ingen- 
ious use  of  but- 
tresses instead  of 
walls  is  the  funda- 
mental principle  of 
Gothic  architecture, 
and  it  was  discovered 
the  medieval  towns. 

The  wall,  no  longer  essential  for  supporting  the  ceiling,  was 
used  only  to  inclose  the  building,  and  windows  could  be  built  as 
high  and  wide  as  pleased  the  architect.  By  the  use  of  pointed 
instead  of  round  arches  it  was  possible  to  give  great  variety  to 

I 


Fig.  188. 


Flying  Buttresses  of  Notre 
Dame,  Paris 


The  size  of  the  buttresses  and  the  height  of 

the   clerestory  windows  of  a  great  cathedral 

are  well  shown  here 


for  the  first  time  bv  the  architects  in 


The  pointed 
arch 


514 


Outlines  of  European  History 


the  windows  and  vaulting.  So  pointed  arches  came  into  general 
use,  and  the  Gothic  is  often  called  the  "  pointed  "  style  on  this 
account,  although  the  use  of  the  ribs  and  buttresses  is  the  chief 
peculiarity  of  that  form  of  architecture,  not  the  pointed  arch. 

The  light  from  the  huge  windows  (those  at  Beauvais  are 
fifty  to  fifty-five  feet  high)  would  have  been  too  intense  had  it 
not  been  softened  by  the  stained  glass,  set  in  exquisite  stone 


Fig.  189.  Grotesque  Heads,  Rheims  Cathedral 

Here  and  there  about  a  Gothic  cathedral  the  stone  carvers  were  accus- 
tomed to  place  grotesque  and  comical  figures  and  faces.  During  the 
process  of  restoring  the  cathedral  at  Rheims  a  number  of  these  heads 
were  brought  together,  and  the  photograph  was  taken  upon  which  the 
illustration  is  based 

tracery,  with  which  they  were  filled  (Fig.  185).  The  stained 
glass  of  the  medieval  cathedral,  especially  in  France,  where  the 
glass  workers  brought  their  art  to  the  greatest  perfection,  was 
one  of  its  chief  glories.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  this  old  glass 
has  of  course  been  destroyed,  but  it  is  still  so  highly  prized  that 
every  bit  of  it  is  now  carefully  preserved,  for  it  has  never  since 
been  equaled.  A  window  set  with  odd  bits  of  it  pieced  together 
like  crazy  patchwork  is  more  beautiful,  in  its  rich  and  jewel-like 
coloring,  than  the  finest  modern  work. 


Medieval  Tozvns- 


tJieir  Business  and  Biiildings     5  i  5 


As  the  skill  of  the  architects  increased  they  became  bolder 
and  bolder  and  erected  churches  that  were  marvels  of  lightness 
and  delicacy  of  ornament,  without  sacrificing  dignity  or  beauty 
of  proportion.  The  facade  of  Rheims  cathedral  (Fig.  184)  is 
one  of  the  most  famous  examples  of  the 
best  work  of  the  thirteenth  century,  with 
its  multitudes  of  sculptured  figures  and 
its  gigantic  rose  window  (Fig.  185),  filled 
with  exquisite  stained  glass  of  great  bril- 
liancy. The  interior  of  Exeter  cathedral 
(Fig.  186),  although  by  no  means  so 
spacious  as  a  number  of  the  French 
churches,  affords  an  excellent  example 
of  the  beauty  and  impressiveness  of  a 
Gothic  interior.  The  porch  before  the 
north  entrance  of  Chartres  cathedral 
(Fig.  187)  is  a  magnificent  example  of 
fourteenth-century  work. 

One  of  the  charms  of  a  Gothic  build- 
ing is  the  profusion  of  carving  —  statues 
of  saints  and  rulers  and  scenes  from  the 
Bible,  cut  in  stone.  The  same  kind  of 
stone  was  used  for  both  constructing  the 
building  and  making  the  statues,  so  they 
harmonize  perfectly.  A  fine  example  of 
medieval  carving  is  to  be  seen  in  Fig.  190. 
Here  and  there  the  Gothic  stone  carvers 


Gothic 
sculpture 


would  introduce  amusing  faces  or  comical 


Fig.  190.  Eve  and 

THE  Serpext, 

Rheims 


animals  (see  Figs.  182,  189). 

In  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  Gothic  buildings 
other  than  churches  were  built.  The  most  striking  and  impor- 
tant of  these  were  the  guild  halls,  erected  by  the  rich  corpora- 
tions of  merchants,  and  the  town  halls  of  important  cities.  But 
the  Gothic  style  has  always  seemed  specially  appropriate  for 
churches.    Its  lofty  aisles  and   open  floor  spaces,   its   soaring 


Gothic  used 
mainly  in 
churches 


5i6 


Outlines  of  European  History 


arches  leading  the  eye  toward  heaven,  and  its  glowing  windows 
suggesting  the  glories  of  paradise,  may  well  have  fostered  the 
faith  of  the  medieval  Christian. 


Map  of 
Italy  in  the 
fourteenth 
century 


Venice  and 
its  relations 
with  the 
East 


Section  90.    The  Italian  Cities  of  the  Renaissance 

We  have  been  speaking  so  far  of  the  town  life  in  northern 
Europe  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  We  must  now 
see  how  the  Italian  towns  in  the  following  two  centuries  reached 
a  degree  of  prosperity  and  refinement  undreamed  of  north  of 
the  Alps.  Within  their  walls  learning  and  art  made  such  ex- 
traordinary progress  that  a  special  name  is  often  given  to  the 
period  when  they  flourished  —  the  Renaissaiice}  or  new  birth. 
The  Italian  towns,  like  those  of  ancient  Greece,  were  each  a 
little  state  with  its  own  peculiar  life  and  institutions.  Some  of 
them,  like  Rome,  Milan,  and  Pisa,  had  been  important  in  Roman 
times  ;  others,  like  Venice,  Florence,  and  Genoa,  did  not  become 
conspicuous  until  about  the  time  of  the  Crusades. 

The  map  of  Italy  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century 
was  still  divided  into  three  zones,  as  it  had  been  in  the  time  of 
the  Hohenstaufens.^  To  the  south  lay  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 
Then  came  the  states  of  the  Church,  extending  diagonally  across 
the  peninsula.  To  the  north  and  west  lay  the  group  of  city- 
states  to  which  we  now  turn  our  attention. 

Of  these  none  was  more  celebrated  than  Venice,  which  in  the 
history  of  Europe  ranks  in  importance  with  Paris  and  London. 
This  singular  town  was  built  upon  a  group  of  sandy  islets  lying 
in  the  Adriatic  Sea,  about  two  miles  from  the  mainland.  It  was 
protected  from  the  waves  by  a  long,  narrow  sand  bar  similar  to 
those  which  fringe  the  Atlantic  coast  from  New  Jersey  south- 
ward. Such  a  situation  would  not  ordinarily  have  been  delib- 
erately chosen  as  the  site  of  a  great  city ;  but  it  was  a  good 

1  This  word,  although  originally  French,  has  come  into  such  common  use 
that  it  is  quite  permissible  to  pronounce  it  as  if  it  were  English,  —  7'e-7ia'sens, 

2  See  map  above,  p.  454. 


Medieval  Toz 


wiis 


their  Bjisiness  and  Btdtdings     5  1 7 


place  for  fishermen,  and  its  very  desolation  and  inaccessibility 
recommended  it  to  those  settlers  who  fled  from  their  homes  on  the 
mainland  during  the  barbarian  invasions-  As  time  went  on,  the 
location  proved  to  have  its  advantages  commercially,  and  even 
before  the  Crusades  Venice  had  begun  to  engage  in  foreign 


Yh  ■  SI  .      fit;  *  k  .'  \fe.    S  t. 


mi!m.'^"y::'jhmf„ 


tU'  I  tL^^^^Bs-  •^-^  '■  ^^?i^S' 


Fig.  191.  A  Scene  ix  Venice 

Boats,  called  gondolas,  take  the  place  of  carriages  in  Venice  ;  one  can 
reach  any  point  in  the  city  by  some  one  of  the  numerous  canals,  which 
take  the  place  of  streets.  There  are  also  narrow  lanes  along  the  canals, 
crossing  them  here  and  there  by  bridges,  so  one  can  wander  about 
the  town  on  foot 

trade.  Its  enterprises  carried  it  eastward,  and  it  early  acquired 
possessions  across  the  Adriatic  and  in  the  Orient.  The  influ- 
ence of  this  intercourse  with  the  East  is  plainly  shown  in  the 
celebrated  church  of  St,  Mark,  whose  domes  and  decorations 
suggest  Constantinople  rather  than  Italy  (Fig.  192). 

It  w^as  not  until  early  in  the  fifteenth  century  that  Venice 
found  it  to  her  interest  to  extend  her  sway  upon  the  Italian 


518 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Venice  ex- 
tends her 
sway  on  the 
mainland 


mainland.  She  doubtless  believed  it  dangerous  to  permit  her 
rival,  Milan,  to  get  possession  of  the  Alpine  passes  through 
which  her  goods  found  their  way  north.   It  may  be,  too,  that  she 


Fig.  192.   St.  Mark's  and  the  Doge's  Palace  in  Venice 

One  sees  the  fa9ade  of  St.  Mark's  to  the  left,  and  that  of  the  doge's 
palace  beyond.  The  church,  modeled  after  one  in  Constantinople, 
was  planned  before  the  First  Crusade  and  is  adorned  with  numerous 
colored  marble  columns  and  slabs  brought  from  the  East.  The  interior 
is  covered  with  mosaics,  some  of  which  go  back  to  the  twelfth  and  the 
thirteenth  century.  The  fa9ade  is  also  adorned  with  brilliant  mosaics. 
St.  Mark's  "  is  unique  among  the  buildings  of  the  world  in  respect 
to  its  unparalleled  richness  of  material  and  decoration."  The  doge's 
palace  contained  the  government  offices  and  the  magnificent  halls  in 
which  the  senate  and  Council  of  Ten  met.  The  palace  was  begun 
about  1300,  and  the  fa9ade  we  see  in  the  picture  was  commenced 
about  a  hundred  years  later.  It  shows  the  influence  of  the  Gothic 
Style,  which  penetrated  into  northern  Italy 

preferred  to  draw  her  food  supplies  from  the  neighborhood  in- 
stead of  transporting  them  across  the  Adriatic  from  her  eastern 
possessions.  Moreover,  all  the  Italian  cities  except  A^enice  al- 
ready controlled  a  larger  or  smaller  area  of  country  about  them. 


Medieval  Tozvns  —  tJieir  Btisitiess  and  Buildings    5  1 9 

About  the  year  1400  Venice  reached  the  height  of  its  pros- 
perity. It  had  a  population  of  two  hundred  thousand,  which  was 
very  large  for  those  days.  It  had  three  hundred  seagoing 
vessels  which  went  to  and  fro  in  the  Mediterranean,  carrying 
wares  from  the  East  to  the  West.  It  had  a  war  fleet  of  forty- 
five    galleys,   manned    by   eleven   thousand   marines    ready   to 


Fig.  193.   Senate  Chamber  in  the  Doge's  Palace 

This  is  an  example  of  the  magnificent  decoration  of  the  rooms  used  by 

the  Venetian  government.    It  was  adorned  by  celebrated  painters  in 

the  sixteenth  century,  when  Venice  became  famous  for  its  artists 


fight  the  batdes  of  the  republic.  But  when  Constantinople 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks  (1453)  and  when,  later,  the  route 
to  India  by  sea  was  discovered  (see  next  section),  Venice  could 
no  longer  keep  control  of  the  trade  with  the  East,  and  while  it 
remained  an  important  city,  it  no  longer  enjoyed  its  former 
influence  and  power. 

Although  Venice  was  called  a  republic,  it  was  really  gov- 
erned by  a  very  small  group  of  persons.     In    131 1,   after  a 


520 


Outlines  of  European  History 


rebellion,  the  famous  Council  of  Ten  was  created  as  a  sort  of 
committee  of  public  safety.  The  whole  government,  domestic  and 
foreign,  was  placed  in  its  hands,  in  conjunction  with  the  senate 
and  the  doge  (that  is,  duke),  the  nominal  head  of  the  republic. 
The  government,  thus  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  a  very  few, 
was  carried  on  with  great  secrecy,  so  that  public  discussion, 
such  as  prevailed  in  Florence  and  led  to  innumerable  revolu- 
tions there,  was  unheard  of  in  Venice.  The  Venetian  merchant 
was  such  a  busy  person  that  he  was  quite  willing  that  the  State 
should  exercise  its  functions  without  his  interference. 

Venice  often  came  to  blows  with  other  rival  cities,  especially 
Genoa,  but  its  citizens  lived  quietly  at  home  under  the  govern- 
ment of  its  senate,  the  Council  of  Ten,  and  the  doge.  The 
other  Italian  towns  were  not  only  fighting  one  another  much  of 
the  time,  but  their  government  was  often  in  the  hands  of  despots^ 
somewhat  like  the  old  Greek  tyrants,  who  got  control  of  towns 
and  managed  them  in  their  own  interest. 

There  are  many  stories  of  the  incredible  ferocity  exhibited 
by  the  Italian  despots.  It  must  be  remembered  that  they  were 
very  rarely  legitimate  rulers,  but  usurpers,  who  could  only  hope 
to  retain  their  power  so  long  as  they  could  keep  their  subjects 
in  check  and  defend  themselves  against  equally  illegitimate 
usurpers  in  the  neighboring  cities.  This  situation  developed  a 
high  degree  of  sagacity,  and  many  of  the  despots  found  it  to 
their  interest  to  govern  well  and  even  to  give  dignity  to  their 
rule  by  patronizing  artists  and  men  of  letters.  But  the  despot 
usually  made  many  bitter  enemies  and  was  almost  necessarily 
suspicious  of  treason  on  the  part  of  those  about  him.  He  was 
ever  conscious  that  at  any  moment  he  might  fall  a  victim  to 
the  dagger  or  the  poison  cup. 

The  Italian  towns  carried  on  their  wars  among  themselves 
largely  by  means  of  hired  troops.  When  a  military  expedition 
was  proposed,  a  bargain  was  made  with  one  of  the  professional 
leaders  {co?idottieri),  who  provided  the  necessary  force.  As  the 
soldiers  had  no  more  interest  in  the  conflict  than  did  those  whom 


Medieval  Toivjis  —  their  Business  and  Buildings     521 


they  opposed,  who  were  likewise  hired  for  the  occasion,  the 
fight  was  not  usually  very  bloody ;  for  the  object  of  each  side 
was  to  capture  the  other  without  unnecessarily  rough  treatment. 

It  sometimes 
happened  that  the 
leader  who  had 
conquered  a  town 
for  his  employer 
appropriated  the 
fruits  of  the  vic- 
tory for  himself. 
This  occurred  in 
the  case  of  Milan 
in  1450.  The  old 
line  of  despots 
(the  A^isconti) 
having  died  out, 
the  citizens  hired 
a  certain  captain, 
named  Francesco 
Sforza,  to  assist 
them  in  a  war 
against  Venice, 
whose  possessions 
now  extended  al- 
most to  those 
of  Milan.  \Mien 
Sforza  had  repelled 
the  Venetians,  the 
Milanese  found  it 
impossible  -to  get 
rid  of  him,  and 
he  and  his  succes- 
sors became  rulers 
over  the  town. 


Fig.  194.   Tomb  of  an  Italian  Despot 

The  family  of  the  Visconti  maintained  them- 
selves many  years  as  despots  of  Milan.  Gian 
Galeazzo  Visconti  began  in  1396  a  magnificent 
Carthusian  monastery  not  far  from  Milan,  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  structures  in  Italy.  Here, 
long  after  his  death,  a  monument  was  erected  to 
him  as  founder  of  the  monastery.  The  monu- 
ment was  begun  about  1500  but  not  completed 
for  several  decades 


522 


Oiitlifies  of  E J  crop  e  an  History 


Machiavelli's 
Prince 


Florence 


The  Medici 


Lorenzo  the 
Magnificent 


An  excellent  notion  of  the  position  and  policy  of  the  Italian 
despots  may  be  derived  from  a  little  treatise  called  The  Prince^ 
written  by  the  distinguished  Florentine  historian,  Machiavelli. 
The  writer  appears  to  have  intended  his  book  as  a  practical 
manual  for  the  despots  of  his  time.  It  is  a  cold-blooded  discus- 
sion of  the  ways  in  which  a  usurper  may  best  retain  his  control 
over  a  town  after  he  has  once  got  possession  of  it.  The  author 
even  takes  up  the  questions  as  to  how  far  princes  should  con- 
sider their  promises  when  it  is  inconvenient  to  keep  them,  and 
how  many  of  the  inhabitants  the  despot  may  wisely  kill. 
Machiavelli  concludes  that  the  Italian  princes  who  have  not 
observed  their  engagements  overscrupulously,  and  who  have 
boldly  put  their  political  adversaries  out  of  the  way,  have  fared 
better  than  their  more  conscientious  rivals. 

The  history  of  Florence,  perhaps  the  most  important  of  the 
Italian  cities,  differs  in  many  ways  from  that  of  Venice  and  of 
the  despotisms  of  which  Milan  was  an  example.  Florence  was  a 
republic,  and  all  classes  claimed  the  right  to  interest  themselves 
in  the  government.  This  led  to  constant  changes  in  the  constitu- 
tion and  frequent  struggles  between  the  different  political  parties. 
When  one  party  got  the  upper  hand  it  generally  expelled  its 
chief  opponents  from  the  city.  Exile  was  a  terrible  punishment 
to  a  Florentine,  for  Florence  was  not  merely  his  native  city  — 
it  was  his  country,  and  loved  and  honored  as  such. 

By  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  Florence  had  come 
under  the  control  of  the  great  family  of  the  Medici,  whose 
members  played  the  role  of  very  enlightened  political  bosses. 
By  quietly  watching  the  elections  and  secretly  controlling  the 
selection  of  city  officials,  they  governed  without  letting  it  be 
suspected  that  the  people  had  lost  their  power.  The  most  dis- 
tinguished member  of  the  house  of  Medici  was  Lorenzo  the 
Magnificent  (d.  1492)  ;  under  his  rule  Florence  reached  the 
height  of  its  glory  in  art  and  literature. 

As  one  wanders  about  Florence  to-day,  he  is  impressed  with 
the  contradictions  of  the  Renaissance  period.    The  streets  are 


Medieval  Ton 


their  Business  and  Buildings    523 


lined  with  the  palaces  of  the  noble  families  to  whose  rivalries 
much  of  the  continual  disturbance  was  due.  The  lower  stories 
of  these  build- 
ings are  con- 
structed of  great 
stones,  like  for- 
tresses, and 
their  windows 
are  barred  like 
those  of  a  prison 

(Fig.  195);  yet 
within  they  were 
often  furnished 
with  the  great- 
est taste  and 
luxury.  For  in 
spite  of  the  dis- 
order, against 
w^hich  the  rich 
protected  them- 
selves by  mak- 
ing their  houses 
half  strongholds, 
the  beautiful 
churches,  noble 
public  build- 
ings, and  works 
of  art  which 
now  fill  the  mu- 
seums indicate 
that  mankind 
has  never,  per- 
haps, reached  a  ^ 
higher  degree  of  perfection  in  the  arts  of  peace  than  amidst 
the  turmoil  of  this  restless  toWn  (see  below,  Figs.  203,  204). 


Fig.  195.  The  Palace  of  the  Medici  in 
Florence 

This  was  erected  about  1435  by  Cosimo  dei  Medici, 
and  in  it  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent  conducted  the 
government  of  Florence,  and  entertained  the  men 
of  letters  and  artists  with  whom  he  liked  best  to  as- 
sociate. It  shows  how  fortresslike  the  lower  por- 
tions of  a  Florentine  palace  were,  in  order  to  protect 
the  owner  from  attack 


524 


Outlines  of  Ejiropeait  History 


Rome,  the 
capital  of  the 
papacy 


During  the  same  period  in  which  Venice  and  Florence  became 
leaders  in  wealth  and  refinement,  Rome,  the  capital  of  the  popes, 

likewise  underwent  a 
great  change.  After  the 
popes  returned  from 
their  seventy  years'  resi- 
dence in  France  and 
Avignon  (see  above, 
p.  493)  they  found  the 
town  in  a  dilapidated 
state.  For  years  they 
were  able  to  do  little  to 
restore  it,  as  there  was 
a  long  period  during 
which  the  papacy  was 
weakened  by  the  exist- 
ence of  a  rival  line  of 
popes  who  continued  to 
live  at  Avignon.  When 
the  "  great  schism  "  was 
over,  and  all  the  Euro- 
pean nations  once  more 
acknowledged  the  pope 
at  Rome  (141 7),  it  be- 
came possible  to  improve 
the  city  and  revive  some 
of  its  ancient  glory. 
Architects,  painters,  and 
men  of  letters  were  called 
in  and  handsomely  paid 
by  the  popes  to  erect  and 
adorn  magnificent  build- 
ings and  to  collect  a 
great  library  in  the  Vati- 
can palace. 


Fig. 


196.  Cathedral  and  Bell 
Tower  at  Florenxe 


The  church  was  begun  in  1296  and  com- 
pleted in  1436.  The  great  dome  built  by 
the  architect  Brunelleschi  has  made  his 
name  famous.  It  is  300  feet  high.  The 
fa9ade  is  modern  but  after  an  old  design. 
The  bell  tower,  or  campanile,  was  begun 
by  the  celebrated  painter  Giotto  about 
1335  and  completed  about  fifty  years  later. 
It  is  richly  adorned  with  sculpture  and 
colored  marbles  and  is  considered  the 
finest  structure  of  the  kind  in  the  world 


Medieval  Towns  —  their  Business  and  Binldings     525 


The  ancient  basilica  of  St.  Peter's  (Fig.  136)  no  longer  satis-   St  Peter's 
fied  the  aspirations  of  the  popes.    It  was  gradually  torn  down, 
and  after  many  changes  of  plan  the  present  celebrated  church 
with  its  vast  dome  and  imposing  approach  (Fig.  197)  took  its 


Fig.  197.   St.  Peter's  and  the  Vatican  Palace 

This  is  the  largest  church  in  the  world.  It  is  about  700  feet  long,  includ- 
ing the  portico,  and  435  feet  high,  from  the  pavement  to  the  cross  on  the 
dome.  The  reconstruction  was  begun  as  early  as  1450  but  it  proceeded 
very  slowly.  Several  great  architects,  Bramante,  Raphael,  Michael 
Angelo,  and  others  were  intrusted  with  the  work.  After  many  changes 
of  plan  the  new  church  was  finally  in  condition  to  consecrate  in  1626. 
It  is  estimated  that  it  cost  over  $50,000,000.  The  construction  of  the 
vast  palace  of  the  popes,  which  one  sees  to  the  right  of  the  church,  was 
carried  on  during  the  same  period.  It  is  said  to  have  no  less  than  eleven 
thousand  rooms.  Some  of  them  are  used  for  museums  and  others 
are  celebrated  for  the  frescoes  which  adorn  their  walls,  by  Raphael, 
Michael  Angelo,  and  other  of  Italy's  greatest  artists 

place.   The  old  palace  of  the  Lateran  (Fig.  135),  where  the  The  Vatican 
government  of  the  popes  had  been  carried  on  for  a  thousand 
years,  had  been  deserted  after  the  return  from  Avignon,  and 
the  new  palace  of  the  Vatican  was  gradually  constructed  to  the 
right  of  St.  Peter's.    It  has  thousands  of  rooms  great  and  small, 


5  26  Outlines  of  Euivpean  History 

some  of  them  adorned  by  the  most  distinguished  of  the  Italian  1 
painters,  and  others  filled  with  ancient  statuary. 

As  one  visits  Venice,  Florence,  and  Rome  to-day  he  may  still 
see,  almost  perfectly  preserved,  many  of  the  finest  of  the  build- 
ings, paintings,  and  monuments  which  belong  to  the  period  we 
have  been  discussing. 

Section  91.     Early  Geographical  Discoveries 

Medieval  The    business   and   commerce  of  the  medieval   towns   was 

a^smairscalT  ^^  what  would  seem  to  us  a  rather  small  scale.  There  were 
no  great  factories,  such  as  have  grown  up  in  recent  times  with 
the  use  of  steam  and  machinery,  and  the  ships  which  sailed 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  North  Sea  were  small  and  held  only 
a  very  light  cargo  compared  with  modem  merchant  vessels. 
The  gradual  growth  of  a  world  commerce  began  with  the  sea 
voyages  of  the  fifteenth  century,  which  led  to  the  exploration  by 
Europeans  of  the  whole  globe,  most  of  which  was  entirely 
unknown  to  the  Venetian  merchants  and  those  who  carried  on 
the  trade  of  the  Hanseatic  League.  The  Greeks  and  Romans 
knew  little  about  the  world  beyond  southern  Europe,  northern 
Africa,  and  western  Asia,  and  much  that  they  knew  was  for- 
gotten during  the  Middle  Ages.  The  Crusades  took  many 
Europeans  as  far  east  as  Egypt  and  Syria.  About  1260  two 
Venetian  merchants,  the  Polo  brothers,  visited  China  and  were 
kindly  received  at  Pekin  by  the  emperor  of  the  Mongols.  On 
Marco  Polo  a  second  journey  they  were  accompanied  by  Marco  Polo,  the 
son  of  one  of  the  brothers.  When  they  got  safely  back  to 
Venice  in  1295,  after  a  journey  of  twenty  years,  Marco  gave 
an  account  of  his  experiences  which  filled  his  readers  with 
wonder.  Nothing  stimulated  the  interest  of  the  West  more  than 
his  fabulous  description  of  the  abundance  of  gold  in  Zipangu 
(Japan)  ^  and  of  the  spice  markets  of  the  Moluccas  and  Ceylon. 

1  See  below,  p.  530. 


Illllli^y 


527 


528  Outlines  of  Europe  an  History 

The  dis-  About  the  year  13 18  Venice  and  Genoa  opened  up  direct 

theTortu'-        communication  by  sea   with   the   towns    of    the   Netherlands, 
guese  in  the     Their  fleets,  which  touched  at  the  port  of  Lisbon,  aroused  the 

fourteenth  ' 

and  fifteenth  commercial  enterprise  of  the  Portuguese,  who  soon  began  to 
undertake  extended  maritime  expeditions.  By  the  middle  of  the 
fourteenth  century  they  had  discovered  the  Canary  Islands, 
Madeira,  and  the  Azores.  Before  this  time  no  one  had  ven- 
tured along  the  coast  of  Africa  beyond  the  arid  region  of 
Sahara.  The  country  was  forbidding,  there  were  no  ports, 
and  mariners  were,  moreover,  discouraged  by  the  general  belief 
that  the  torrid  region  was  uninhabitable.  In  1445,  however, 
some  adventurous  sailors  came  within  sight  of  a  headland  beyond 
the  desert  and,  struck  by  its  luxuriant  growth  of  tropical  trees, 
they  called  it  Cape  Verde  (the  green  cape).  Its  discovery  put 
an  end  once  for  all  to  the  idea  that  there  were  only  parched 
deserts  to  the  south. 

For  a  generation  longer  the  Portuguese  continued  to  venture 
farther  and  farther  along  the  coast,  in  the  hope  of  finding  it 
coming  to  an  end,  so  that  they  might  make  their  way  by  sea 
to  India.  At  last,  in  i486,  Diaz  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  Twelve  years  late?' (1498)  Vasco  da  Gama,  spurred  on 
by  Columbus's  great  discovery,  after  sailing  around  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  and  northward  beyond  Zanzibar,  steered  straight 
across  the  Indian  Ocean  and  reached  Calicut,  in  Hindustan, 
by  sea. 

The  spice  Vasco  da  Gama  and  his  fellow  adventurers  were  looked  upon 

with  natural  suspicion  by  the  Mohammedan  spice  merchants, 
who  knew  very  well  that  their  object  was  to  establish  direct  trade 
between  the  Spice  Islands  (Moluccas)  and  western  Europe. 
Hitherto  the  Mohammedans  had  had  the  monopoly  of  the  spice 
trade  between  the  Moluccas  and  the  eastern  ports  of  the  Med- 
iterranean, where  the  products  were  handed  over  to  Italian  mer- 
chants. The  Mohammedans  were  unable,  however,  to  prevent 
the  Portuguese  from  concluding  treaties  with  the  Indian  princes 
and  establishing  trading  stations  at  Goa  and  elsewhere.    In  15 12 


Medieval  Tozvjis —  their  Business  and  Buildings    529 

a  successor  of  Vasco  da  Gama  reached  Java  and  the  Moluccas, 
where  the  Portuguese  speedily  built  a  fortress.  By  15 15  Por- 
tugal had  become  the  greatest  among  sea  powers ;  and  spices 
reached  Lisbon  regularly  without  the  intervention  of  the  Moham- 
medan merchants  or  the  Italian  towns,  which,  especially  Venice, 
were  mortally  afflicted  by  the  change  (see  above,  p.  519). 


rc;::^ 


ANDAMAN 


0' 


The  Malay  Archipelago 

The  outline  of  the  United  States  has  been  drawn  in  to  make  clear  the 
vast  extent  of  the  region  explored  by  the  Portuguese  at  the  opening 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  It  is  not  far  from  2000  miles  from  Ceylon  to 
Malacca  Strait,  and  as  far  from  there  on  to  the  Spice  Islands  as  from 
Denver  to  Richmond,  Virginia 


There  is  no  doubt  that  the  desire  to  obtain  spices  was  at 
this  time  the  main  reason  for  the  exploration  of  the  globe. 
This  motive  led  European  navigators  to  try  in  succession  every 
possible  way  to  reach  the  East  —  by  going  around  Africa,  by 
sailing  west  in  the  hope  of  reaching  the  Indies  (before  they 
knew  of  the  existence  of  America),  then,  after  America  was 
discovered,  by  sailing  around  it  to  the  north  or  south,  and  even 
sailing  around  Europe  to  the  north. 


Importance 
of  spices  in 
encouraging 
navigation 


530 


Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 


Idea  of 
reaching 
the  Spice 
Islands  by 
sailing 
westward 


Columbus 
discovers 
America, 
1492 


Magellan's 
expedition 
around  the 
world 


It  is  hard  for  us  to  understand  this  enthusiasm  for  spices,  for 
which  we  care  much  less  nowadays.  One  former  use  of  spices 
was  to  preserve  food,  which  could  not  then  as  now  be  carried 
rapidly,  while  still  fresh,  from  place  to  place ;  nor  did  our  con- 
veniences then  exist  for  keeping  it  by  the  use  of  ice.  Moreover, 
spice  served  to  make  even  spoiled  food  more  palatable  than  it 
would  otherwise  have  been. 

It  inevitably  occurred  to  thoughtful  men  that  the  East  Indies 
could  be  reached  by  sailing  westnuxrd.  All  intelligent  people 
knew,  all  through  the  Middle  Ages,  that  the  earth  was  a  globe. 
The  chief  authority  upoa  the  form  and  size  of  the  earth  con- 
tinued to  be  the  ancient  astronomer  Ptolemy,  who  had  lived 
about  150  A.D.  He  had  reckoned  the  earth  to  be  about  one  sixth 
smaller  than  it  is  ;  and  as  Marco  Polo  had  given  an  exaggerated 
idea  of  the  distance  which  he  and  his  companions  had  traveled 
eastward,  and  as  no  one  suspected  the  existence  of  the  Amer- 
ican continents,  it  was  supposed  that  it  could  not  be  a  very  long 
journey  from  Europe  across  the  Atlantic  to  Japan.-^ 

In  1492,  as  we  all  know,  a  Genoese  navigator,  Columbus 
(b.  145 1 ),  who  had  had  much  experience  on  the  sea,  got  together 
three  little  ships  and  undertook  the  journey  westward  to  Zipangu, 
—  the  land  of  gold,  —  which  he  hoped  to  reach  in  five  weeks. 
After  thirty-two  days  from  the  time  he  left  the  Canary  Islands 
he  came  upon  land,  the  island  of  San  Salvador,  and  believed 
himself  to  be  in  the  East  Indies.  Going  on  from  there  he  dis- 
covered the  island  of  Cuba,  which  he  believed  to  be  the  main- 
land of  Asia,  and  then  Haiti,  which  he  mistook  for  the  longed-for 
Zipangu  (see  p.  526).  Although  he  made  three  later  expedi- 
tions and  sailed  down  the  coast  of  South  America  as  far  as 
the  Orinoco,  he  died  without  realizing  that  he  had  not  been 
exploring  the  coast  of  Asia. 

After  the  bold  enterprises  of  Vasco  da  Gama  and  Columbus, 
an  expedition  headed  by  the  Portuguese  Magellan  succeeded 
in  circumnavigating  the  globe.    There  was  now  no  reason  why 

i  See  accompanying  reproduction  of  Behaim's  globe. 


An  Old  Map  ok  the  Globe,  showing  the  Conception  of  the 
World  in  the  Time  of  Columbus 


Medieval  Tozvns  —  their  Business  and  Biiildings    531 

the  new  lands  should  not  become  more  and  more  familiar  to 
the  European  nations.  The  coast  of  North  America  was  ex- 
plored principally  by  English  navigators,  who  for  over  a  century 
pressed  northward,  still  in  the  vain  hope  of  finding  a  northwest 
passage  to  the  Spice  Islands. 

Cortes  began  the  Spanish  conquests  in  the  western  world  by  The  Spanish 
undertaking  the  subjugation  of  the  Aztec  empire  in  Mexico  in  Amerk;?^  ^^ 
15 19.  A  few  years  later  Pizarro  established  the  Spanish  power 
in  Peru.  Spain  now  superseded  Portugal  as  a  maritime  power, 
and  her  importance  in  the  sixteenth  century  is  to  be  attributed 
largely  to  the  wealth  which  came  to  her  from  her  possessions 
in  the  New  World. 

By  the  end  of  the  century  the  Spanish  main  —  that  is,  the   The  Spanish 
northern  coast  of  South  America  —  was  much  frequented  by   "^^"^ 
adventurous  seamen,  who  combined  in  about  equal  parts  the 
occupations  of  merchant,  slaver,  and  pirate.     Many  of  these 
hailed  from  English  ports,  and  it  is  to  them  that  England  owes 
the  beginning  of  her  commercial  greatness. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  Europeans  exhibited  an 
utter  disregard  for  the  rights  of  the  people  with  whom  they 
came  in  contact  and  often  treated  them  with  contemptuous 
cruelty.  The  exploration  of  the  globe  and  the  conquest  by 
European  nations  of  peoples  beyond  the  sea  led  finally  to  the 
vast  colonization  of  modern  times,  which  has  caused  many  wars 
but  has  served  to  spread  European  ideas  throughout  the  world. 
This  creation  of  a  greater  Europe  will  be  discussed  in  the  next 
volume  of  this  work. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  87.  Why  are  towns  necessary  to  progress  .^  How  did  the 
towns  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  originate.''  What  was  the 
nature  of  a  town  charter.''  Describe  the  guild  organization. 

Section  88.  Describe  the  revival  and  extending  of  commerce  in 
the  Middle  Ages.  What  were  some  of  the  obstacles  to  business? 
Describe  the  Hanseatic  League. 


532  Outlines  of  Euivpcan  Histoiy 

Section  89.  What  are  the  chief  characteristics  of  Romanesque 
churches?  What  were  the  principles  of  construction  which  made  it 
possible  to  build  a  Gothic  church?  Tell  something  about  the  decora- 
tion of  a  Gothic  church. 

Section  90.  Describe  the  map  of  Italy  in  the  fourteenth  century. 
What  are  the  peculiarities  of  Venice?  Who  were  the  Italian  despots? 
What  is  the  interest  of  MachiavelH's  Frmce  ?  Contrast  Florence  with 
Venice. 

Section  91.  W^hat  geographical  discoveries  were  made  before 
1 500  ?  How  far  is  it  by  sea  from  Lisbon  to  Calicut  around  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope?  What  was  the  importance  of  the  spice  trade ?  What 
led  Columbus  to  try  to  reach  the  Indies  by  sailing  westward? 


CHAPTER  XXII 

BOOKS  AND  SCIENCE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 

Section  92.  How  the  Modern  Languages  originated 

We  should  leave  the  Middle  Ages  with  a  very  im^  ^rfect  notion 
of  them  if  we  did  not  now  stop  to  consider  what  \.  "ople  were 
thinking  about  during  that  period,  what  they  had  to  /ead,  and 
what  they  believed  about  the  world  in  which  they  lived. 

To  begin  with,- the  Middle  Ages  differed  from  our  own  time  General  use 
in  the  very  general  use  then  made  of  Latin,  in  both  writing  and  ;„  the '" 
speaking.  The  language  of  the  Roman  Empire  continued  to  be  Middle  Ages 
used  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  long  after ;  all  books  that 
made  any  claim  to  learning  were  written  in  Latin ;  ^  the  pro- 
fessors in  the  universities  lectured  in  Latin,  friends  wrote  to  one 
another  in  Latin,  and  state  papers,  treaties,  and  legal  documents 
were  drawn-  up  in  the  same  language.  The  ability  of  every  edu- 
cated person  to  make  use  of  Latin,  as  well  as  of  his  native  tongue, 
was  a  great  advantage  at  a  time  when  there  were  many  obstacles 
to  intercourse  among  the  various  nations.  It  helps' to  explain, 
for  example,  the  remarkable  way  in  which  the  Pope  kept  in 
touch  with  all  the  clergymen  of  western  Christendom,  and  the 
ease  with  which  students,  friars,  and  merchants  could  wander 
from  one  country  to  another.  There  is  no  more  interesting  or 
important  revolution  than  that  by  which  the  languages  of  the 
people  in  the  various  European  countries  gradually  pushed  aside 
the  ancient  tongue  and  took  its  place,  so  that  even  scholars 
scarcely  ever  think  now  of  writing  books  in  Latin. 

1  In  Germany  the  books  published  annually  in  the  German  language  did  not 
exceed  those  in  Latin  until  after  1690. 

533 


534  Outlines  of  European  History 

In  order  to  understand  how  it  came  about  that  two  languages, 

the  Latin  and  the  native  speech,  were  both  commonly  used  in 

all  the  countries  of  western  Europe  all  through  the  Middle  Ages, 

we  must  glance  at  the  origin  of  the  modern  languages.    These 

all  fall  into  two  quite  distinct  groups,  the    Germatiic  and  the 

Romance. 

The  Ger-  Those  German  peoples  who  had  continued  to  live  outside  of 

guT^es^"         the  Roman  Empire,  or  who,  during  the  invasions,  had  not  set- 

denved  from    ^^^  f^j-  enough  within  its  bounds  to  be  led,  as  were  the  Franks 

the  dialects  ^ 

of  the  in  Gaul,  to  adopt  the  tongue  of  those  they  had  conquered,  natu- 

barbarians  rally  adhered  to  the  language  they  had  always  used;  namely,  the 
particular  Germanic  dialect  which  their  forefathers  had  spoken 
for  untold  generations.  From  the  various  languages  used  by  the 
German  barbarians,  modern  German,  English,  Dutch,  Swedish, 
Norwegian,  Danish,  and  Icelandic  are  derived. 
The  Romance  The  second  group  of  languages  developed  within  the  terri- 
d?rfve^d1rom  tory  which  had  formed  a  part  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and 
Latfif^^^"  includes  modern  French,  Italian,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese.  It 
has  now  been  clearly  proved,  by  a  very  minute  study  of  the  old 
forms  of  words,  that  these  Romance  languages  were  one  and 
all  derived  from  the  spoken  Latin,  employed  by  the  soldiers, 
merchants,  and  people  at  large.  This  differed  considerably 
from  the  elaborate  and  elegant  written  Latin  which  was  used, 
for  example,  by  Cicero  and  Caesar.  It  was  undoubtedly  much 
simpler  in  its  grammar  and  varied  a  good  deal  in  different 
regions ;  a  Gaul,  for  instance,  could  not  pronounce  the  words 
like  a  Roman.  Moreover,  in  conversation  people  did  not  always 
use  the  same  words  as  those  employed  in  books.  For  example, 
a  horse  was  com.monly  spoken  of  as  caballus,  whereas  a  writer 
would  use  the  word  equus ;  it  is  from  cahallus  that  the  word 
for  "  horse  "  in  Spanish,  Italian,  and  French  is  derived  (caballo, 
cavalto,  cheval). 

As  time  went  on  the  spoken  language  diverged  farther  and 
farther  from  the  written.  Latin  is  a  troublesome  speech  on 
account  of  its  complicated  inflections  and  grammatical  rules, 


Books  a7id  Sciejice  hi  the  Middle  Ages  535 

which  can  be  mastered  only  after  a  great  deal  of  study.  The 
people  of  the  more  remote  Roman  provinces  and  the  incoming 
barbarians  naturally  paid  very  little  attention  to  the  niceties  of 
syntax  and  found  easy  ways  of  saying  what  they  wished/ 

Yet  several  centuries  elapsed  after  the  German  invasions  be- 
fore there  was  anything  written  in  the  language  used  in  con- 
versation. So  long  as  the  uneducated  could  understand  the 
correct  Latin  of  the  books  when  they  heard  it  read  or  spoken, 
there  was  no  necessity  of  writing  anything  in  their  familiar  daily 
speech.  But  by  the  time  Charlemagne  came  to  the  throne  the 
gulf  between  the  spoken  and  the  written  language  had  become 
so  great  that  he  advised  that  sermons  should  be  given  thereafter 
in  the  language  of  the  people,  who,  apparently,  could  no  longer 
follow  the  Latin. 

Although  little  was  written  in  any  German  language  before 
Charlemagne's  time,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Germans  pos- 
sessed an  unwritten  literature,  which  was  passed  down  by  word 
of  mouth  for  several  centuries  before  any  of  it  was  written  out. 

The  oldest  form  of  English  is  commonly  called  Anglo-Saxon  Ancient 
and  is  so  different  from  the  language  which  we  use  that,  in  order  Angicf-skxon 
to  be  read,  it  must  be  learned  like  a  foreign  language.  We  hear 
of  an  English  poet,  as  early  as  Bede's  time,  a  century  before 
Charlemagne.  A  manuscript  of  an  Anglo-Saxon  epic,  called 
Beowtdf,  has  been  preserved  which  belongs  perhaps  to  the  close 
of  the  eighth  century;  The  interest  which  King  Alfred  displayed 
in  the  English  language  has  already  been  mentioned.  This  old 
form  of  our  language  prevailed  until  after  the  Norman  Con- 
quest; the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronide,  which  does  not  close  until 
1 154,  is  written  in  pure  Anglo-Saxon.    Here  is  an  example  : 

"  Here  on  thissum  geare  Willelm  cyng  geaf  Rodberde  eorle 
thone  eorldom  on  Northymbraland.    Da  komon  tha  landes  menn 

1  Even  the  monks  and  others  who  wrote  Latin  in  the  Middle  Ages  often  did 
not  know  enough  to  fallow  strictly  the  rules  of  the  language.  Moreover,  they 
introduced  many  new  words  to  meet  the  new  conditions  and  the  needs  of  the 
time,  such  as  imprisoiiare^  "  to  imprison  "  ;  tdlagare,  "  to  outlaw  "  ;  baptizare, 
"  to  baptize  "  ;  foresta,  "  forest "  ;  fcudmn,  "  fief,"  etc. 


536 


Outlines  of  Enrvpcaii  History 


An  example 
of  English 
in  the 
thirteenth 
centur)' 
(from  A 
Mct7-ical 
Version  of 
Genesis) 


togeanes  him  &  hine  ofslogen,  &  ix  hund  manna  mid  him."^ 
In  modern  English  this  reads :  "  In  this  year  King  William 
gave  the  Earl  Robert  the  earldom  of  Northumberland.  Then 
came  the  men  of  the  country  against  him  and  slew  him,  and 
nine  hundred  men  with  him." 

By  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  two  hundred  years 
after  the  Norman  Conquest,  English  begins  to  look  somewhat 
familiar : 

And  Aaron  held  up  his  bond 

To  the  water  and  the  more  lond ; 

Tho  cam  thor  up  schwilc  froschkes  here 

The  dede  al  folc  Egipte  dere ; 

Summe  woren  wilde,  and  summe  tame, 

And  tho  hem  deden  the  moste  schame ; 

In  huse,  in  drinc,  in  metes,  in  bed, 

It  cropen  and  maden  hem  for-dred.   .  .  . 


^Modernized 
version 


And  Aaron  held  up  his  hand 

To  the  water  and  the  greater  land  ; 

Then  came  there  up  such  host  of  frogs 

That  did  all  Egypt's  folk  harm  ; 

Some  were  wild,  and  some  were  tame, 

And  those  caused  them  the  most  shame ; 

In  house,  in  drink,  in  meats,  in  bed, 

They  crept  and  made  them  in  great  dread.   .   .   . 

Chaucer  (about  1340-1400)  was  the  first  great  English  writer 
whose  works  are  now  read  with  pleasure,  although  one  is  some- 
times puzzled  by  his  spelling  and  certain  words  which  are  no 
longer  used.    This  is  the  way  one  of  his  tales  opens : 

A  poure  wydow  somdel  stope  in  age. 
Was  whilom  dwellyng  in  a  narwe  cotage, 

1  In  writing  Anglo-Saxon  two  old  letters  are  used  for  M,  one  (b)  for  the  sound 
in  "  thin  "  and  the  other  (■??)  for  that  in  "  father."  The  use  of  these  old  letters 
serv^es  to  make  the  language  look  more  different  from  that  of  to-day  than  it  is. 


Books  and  Science  in  the  Middle  Ages  537 

Bisyde  a  grove,  stondyng  in  a  dale. 
This  wydwe  of  wichh  I  telle  yow  my  tale, 
Syn  thilke  day  that  sche  was  last  a  wif. 
In  pacience  ladde  a  ful  symple  lyf. 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  however,  French,  not  English,  was  the 
most  important  of  the  national  languages  of  western  Europe. 
In  France  a  vast  literature  was  produced  in  the  language  of 
the  people  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  which 
profoundly  affected  the  books  written  in  Italy,  Spain,  Germany, 
and  England. 

Two  quite  different  languages  had   gradually  developed   in   French  and 
France  from  the  spoken  Latin  of  the  Roman  Empire.    To  the   ^''°'^^"§^^ 
north,  French  was  spoken  ;  to  the  south,  Provencal. ^ 

Very  litde  in  the  ancient  French  language  written  before  the  Medieval 
year  11 00  has  been  preserved.  The  West  Franks  undoubtedly  JJ^mances 
began  much  earlier  to  sing  of  their  heroes,  of  the  great  deeds 
of  Clovis  and  Charles  Martel.  These  famous  rulers  were,  how- 
ever, completely  overshadowed  later  by  Charlemagne,  who  be- 
came the  unrivaled  hero  of  medieval  poetry  and  romance.  It 
was  believed  that  he  had  reigned  for  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years,  and  the  most  marvelous  exploits  were  attributed  to  him 
and  his  knights.  He  was  supposed,  for  instance,  to  have  led  a 
crusade  to  Jerusalem.  Such  themes  as  these  —  more  legend 
than  history — were  woven  into  long  epics,  which  were  the  first 
written  literature  of  the  Frankish  people.  These  poems,  com- 
bined with  the  stories  of  adventure,  developed  a  spirit  of  patriotic 
enthusiasm  among  the  French  which  made  them  regard  "  fair 
France  "  as  the  especial  care  of  Providence. 

The  famous  So?ig  of  RoIa7id,  the  chief  character  of  which 
was  one  of  Charlemagne's  captains,  was  written  before  the  First 

1  Of  course  there  was  no  sharp  line  of  demarcation  between  the  people  who 
used  the  one  language  or  the  other,  nor  was  Provengal  confined  to  southern 
France.  The  language  of  Catalonia,  beyond  the  Pyrenees,  was  essentially  the 
same  as  that  of  Provence.  French  was  called  la?tgHC  (foil,  and  the  southern 
language  langtie  d^oCj  each  after  the  word  used  for  "yes." 


538 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Romances  of 
King  Arthur 
and  the 
Knights  of 
the  Round 
Table 


The  fabliaux 
and  the 
fables 


Crusade.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century  the  romances 
of  King  Arthur  and  his  Knights  of  the  Round  Table  begin  to 
appear.  These  enjoyed  great  popularity  in  all  western  Europe 
for  centuries,  and  they  are  by  no  means  forgotten  yet.  Arthur, 
of  whose  historical  existence  no  one  can  be  quite  sure,  was 
supposed  to  have  been  king  of  Britain  shortly  after  the  Saxons 
gained  a  foothold  in  the  island.^ 

In  other  long  poems  of  the  time,  Alexander  the  Great,  Caesar, 
and  other  ancient  worthies  appear  as  heroes.  The  absolute  dis- 
regard of  historical  facts  and  the  tendency  to  represent  the 
w^arriors  of  Troy  and  Rome  as  medieval  knights  show  the  in- 
ability of  the  medieval  mind  to  understand  that  the  past  could 
have  been  different  from  the  present.  All  these  romances  are 
full  of  picturesque  adventures  and  present  a  vivid  picture  of  the 
valor  and  loyalty  of  the  true  knight,  as  well  as  of  his  ruthlessness 
and  contempt  for  human  life. 

Besides  the  long  and  elaborate  epics,  like  Roland,  and  the 
romances  in  verse  and  prose,  there  w^ere  numberless  short  stories 
in  verse  (the  fabliaux),  which  usually  dealt  wuth  the  incidents 
of  ever)^day  life,  especially  with  the  comical  ones.  Then  there 
were  the  fables,  the  most  famous  of  which  are  the  stories  of 
Reynard  the  Fox,  which  were  satires  upon  the  customs  of  the 
time,  particularly  the  weaknesses  of  the  priests  and  monks. 


Section  93.    The  Troubadours  and  Chivalry 


The  trou- 
badours 


Turning  now  to  southern  France,  the  beautiful  songs  of  the 
troubadou7's,  which  were  the  glory  of  the  Proven9al  tongue, 
reveal  a  gay  and  polished  society  at  the  courts  of  the  numerous 
feudal  princes.  The  rulers  not  merely  protected  and  encouraged 
the  poets  —  they  aspired  to  be  poets  themselves  and  to  enter  the 
ranks  of  the  troubadours,  as  the  composers  of  these  elegant 


1  Malory's  Mort  cTArtluir,  a  collection  of  the  stories  of  the  Round  Table 
made  in  the  fifteenth  century  for  English  readers,  is  the  best  place  to  turn  for 
these  famous  stories. 


Books  and  Science  in  the  Middle  Ages  5  39 

verses  were  called.  These  songs  were  always  sung  to  an  accom- 
paniment on  some  instrument,  usually  the  lute.  The  troubadours 
traveled  from  court  to  court,  not  only  in  France,  but  north  into 
Germany  and  south  into  Italy,  carrying  with  them  the  southern 
French  poetry-  and  customs.  We  have  few  examples  of  Provencal 
before  the  year  11 00,  but  from  that  time  on,  for  two  centuries, 
countless  songs  were  written,  and  many  of  the  troubadours  en- 
joyed an  international  reputation.  The  terrible  Albigensian  cru- 
sade brought  misery  and  death  into  the  sprightly  circles  which 
had  gathered  about  the  Count  of  Toulouse  and  other  rulers  who 
had  treated  the  heretics  too  leniently. 

For  the  student  of  history,  the  chief  interest  of  the  long  poems  chivalry 
of  northern  France  and  the  songs  of  the  South  lies  in  the  in- 
sight that  they  give  into  the  life  and  aspirations  of  this  feudal 
period.  These  are  usually  summed  up  in  the  term  chivalry,  or 
knighthood,  of  which  a  word  may  properly  be  said  here,  since 
we  should  know  little  of  it  were  it  not  for  the  literature  of  which 
we  have  been  speaking.  The  knights  play  the  chief  role  in 
ail  the  medieval  romances  ;  and,  since  many  of  the  troubadours 
belonged  to  the  knightly  class,  they  naturally  have  much  to  say 
of  it  in  their  songs. 

Chivalry  was  not  a  formal  institution  established  at  any  par- 
ticular moment'  Like  feudalism,  with  which  it  was  closely  con- 
nected, it  had  no  founder,  but  appeared  spontaneously  throughout 
western  Europe  to  meet  the  needs  and  desires  of  the  period. 
When  the  youth  of  good  family  had  been  carefully  trained  to 
ride  his  horse,  use  his  sword,  and  manage  his  hawk  in  the  hunt, 
he  was  made  a  knight  by  a  ceremony  in  which  the  Church 
took  part,  although  the  knighthood  was  actually  conferred  by 
an  older  knight. 

The  knight  was  a  Christian  soldier,  and  he  and  his  fellows   Nature  of 
were  supposed  to  form,  in  a  way,  a  separate  order,  with  high   order"'^    ^ 
ideals  of  the  conduct  befitting  their  class.     Knighthood  was 
not,  however,  membership  in  an  association  with  officers  and  a 
definite   constitution.     It   was  an  ideal,  half-imaginary  society 


540 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  ideals  of 
the  knight 


The  German 
minne- 
singers 


—  a  society  to  which  even  those  who  enjoyed  the  title  of  king 
or  duke  were  proud  to  belong.  One  was  not  born  a  knight  as 
he  might  be  born  a  duke  or  count,  and  could  become  one  only 
through  the  ceremony  mentioned  above.  Although  most  knights 
belonged  to  the  nobility,  one  might  be  a  noble  and  still  not 
belong  to  the^  knightly  order,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  one  who 
was  baseborn  might  be  raised  to  knighthood  on  account  of  some 
valorous  deed. 

The  knight  must,  in  the  first  place,  be  a  Christian  and  must 
obey  and  defend  the  Church  on  all  occasions.  He  must  respect 
all  forms  of  weakness  and  defend  the  helpless  wherever  he 
might  find  them.  He  must  fight  the  infidel  Mohammedans 
ceaselessly,  pitilessly,  and  never  give  way  before  the  enemy. 
He  must  perform  all  his  feudal  duties,  be  faithful  in  all  things 
to  his  lord,  never  lie  or  violate  his  plighted  word.'  He  must  be 
generous  and  give  freely  and  ungrudgingly  to  the  needy.  He 
must  be  faithful  to  his  lady  and  be  ready  to  defend  her  and 
her  honor  at  all  costs.  Everywhere  he  must  be  the  champion 
of  the  right  against  injustice  and  oppression.  In  short,  chivalry 
was  the  Christianized  profession  of  arms. 

In  the  stories  of  King  Arthur  and  his  Knights  of  the  Round 
Table  there  is  a  beautiful  picture  of  the  ideal  knight.  The  dead 
Lancelot  is  addressed  by  one  of  his  sorrowing  companions  as 
follows :  "  Thou  wert  the  courtliest  knight  that  ever  bare  shield, 
and  thou  wert  the  truest  friend  to  thy  lover  that  ever  bestrode 
horse,  and  thou  wert  the  tmest  lover  among  sinful  men  that  ever 
loved  woman,  and  thou  wert  the  kindest  man  that  ever  struck 
with  sword,  and  thou  wert  the  goodliest  person  that  ever  came 
among  the  crowd  of  knights,  and  thou  wert  the  meekest  man 
and  the  gentlest  that  ever  ate  in  hall  among  ladies,  and  thou 
wert  the  sternest  knight  to  thy  mortal  foe  that  ever  put  spear 
in  breast." 

The  Germans  also  made  their  contribution  to  the  literature 
of  chivalry.  The  German  poets  of  the  thirteenth  century  are 
called  7?ii?inesi?igers.    Like  the  troubadours,  whom  they  greatly 


Books  and  Science  in  the  Middle  Ages  541 

admired,  they  usually  sang  of  love,  hence  their  name  (German,   Walther 

Mintie).    The  most  famous  of  the  minnesingers  was  Walther  V^ogelweide 

von  der  Vogelweide  (d.  about  1228),  whose  songs  are  full  of 

charm  and  of  enthusiasm  for  his  German  fatherland.   Wolfram 

von  Eschenbach  (d.  about  1225)  in  his  story  of  Parsifal  gives 

the  long  and  sad  adventures  of  a  knight  in  search  of  the  Holy 

Grail  —  the  sacred  vessel  which  had  held  the  blood  of  Christ, 

which  only  a  person  perfectly  pure  in  thought,  word,  and  deed 

could  hope  to  behold. 


Section  94.    Medieval  Science 

So  long  as  all  books  had  to  be  copied  by  hand,  there  were, 
of  course,  but  few  of  them  compared  with  those  of  modern  times. 
The  literature  of  which  we  have  been  speaking  was  not  in  general 
read,  but  was  only  listened  to,  as  it  was  sung  or  recited  by 
those  who  made  it  their  profession.  Wherever  the  wandering 
troubadour  or  minnesinger  appeared  he  was  sure  of  a  delighted 
audience  for  his  songs  and  stories,  both  serious  and  light. 
People  unfamiliar  with  Latin  could,  however,  learn  little  of  the  General 
past,  for  there  were  no  translations  of  the  great  classics  of  of  the  past 
Greece  and  Rome,  of  Homer,  Plato,  Cicero,  or  Livy.  All  that 
they  could  know  of  ancient  history  was  derived  from  the  fan- 
tastic romances  referred  to  above,  which  had  for  their  theme 
the  quite  preposterous  deeds  ascribed  to  Alexander  the  Great, 
v^neas,  and  Caesar.  As  for  their  own  history,  the  epics  relating 
to  the  earlier  course  of  events  in  France  and  the  rest  of  Europe 
were  hopelessly  confused.  For  example,  the  writers  attributed 
to  Charlemagne  a  great  part  of  the  acts  of  the  Prankish  kings 
from  Clovis  to  Pippin. 

Of  what  we  should  call  scientific  books  there  were  practically   Medieval 
none.    It  is  true  that  there  was  a  kind  of  encyclopedia  in  verse  sdence'^ 
which  gave  a  great  deal  of  misinformation  about  things  in  general. 
Every  one  continued  to  believe,  as  the  Greeks  and  Romans  had 
done,  in  strange  animals  like  the  unicorn,  the  dragon,  and  the 


542 


Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 


The 
salamander 


Medieval 
idea  of  the 
eagle's  habits 


Moral 
lessons 
derived  from 
the  habits 
of  animals 


phenix,  and  in  still  stranger  habits  of  real  animals.  A  single 
example  will  suffice  to  show  what  passed  for  zoology  in  the 
thirteenth  century. 

"  There  is  a  little  beast  made  like  a  lizard  and  such  is  its 
nature  that  it  will  extinguish  fire  should  it  fall  into  it.  The  beast 
is  so  cold  and  of  such  a  quality  that  fire  is  not  able  to  burn  it, 
nor  will  trouble  happen  in  the  place  where  it  shall  be."  This 
beast  signifies  the  holy  man  who  lives  by  faith,  who  "  will  never 
have  hurt  from  fire  nor  will  hell  burn  him.  .  .  .  This  beast  we 
name  also  by  another  name,  salamander.  It  is  accustomed  to 
mount  into  apple-trees,  poisons  the  apples,  and  in  a  well  where 
it  falls  it  poisons  the  water." 

"  The  eagle  [we  are  told  by  a  learned  writer  of  the  time 
of  Henry  II],  on  account  of  its  great  heat,  mixeth  very  cold 
stones  with  its  eggs  when  it  sitteth  on  them,  so  that  the  heat 
shall  not  destroy  them.  In  the  same  way  our  words,  when  we 
speak  with  undue  heat,  should  later  be  tempered  with  discretion, 
so  that  we  may  conciliate  in  the  end  those  whom  we  offended 
by  the  beginning  of  our  speech." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  habits  of  the  animals  were  sup- 
posed to  have  some  moral  or  religious  meaning  and  carry  with 
them  a  lesson  for  mankind.  It  may  be  added  that  this  and 
similar  stories  were  centuries  old  and  are  found  in  the  encyclo- 
pedias of  the  Romans.  The  most  improbable  things  were  re- 
peated from  generation  to  generation  without  its  occurring  to 
any  one  to  inquire  if  there  was  any  truth  in  them.  Even  the  most 
learned  men  of  the  time  believed  in  astrology  and  in  the  miracu- 
lous virtues  of  herbs  and  gems.  For  instance,  Albertus  Magnus, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  thinkers  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
says  that  a  sapphire  will  drive  away  boils  and  that  the  diamond 
can  be  softened  in  the  blood  of  a  stag,  which  will  work  be^-.t  if 
the  stag  has  been  fed  on  wine  and  parsley. 

From  the  Roman  and  early  Christian  writers  the  Middle  Ages 
got  the  idea  of  strange  races  of  men  and  manlike  creatures  of 
various  kinds.    We  find  the  following  in  an  encyclopedia  of  the 


Books  and  Science  m  the  Middle  Ages  543 

thirteenth  century :   "  Satyrs  be  somewhat  like  men,  and  have   Strange 
crooked  noses,  and  horns  in  the  forehead,  and  are  like  to  goats   ^eations 
in  their  feet.    St.  Anthony  saw  such  an  one  in  the  wilderness.  ...   ^"^  ^^^^^ 

■'  of  men 

These  wonderful  beasts  be  divers ;  for  some  of  them  be  called 
Cynocephali,  for  they  have  heads  as  hounds,  and  seem  beasts 
rather  than  men ;  and  some  be  called  Cyclops,  and  have  that 
name  because  each  of  them  hath  but  one  eye,  and  that  in  the 
middle  of  the  forehead ;  and  some  be  all  headless  and  noseless 
and  their  eyes  be  in  the  shoulders ;  and  some  have  plain  faces 
without  nostrils,  and  the  nether  lips  of  them  stretch  so  that  they 
veil  therewith  their  faces  when  they  be  in  the  heat  of  the  sun. 
Also  in  Scythia  be  some  with  so  great  and  large  ears,  that  they 
spread  their  ears  and  cover  all  their  bodies  with  them,  and  these 
be  called  Panchios.  ..." 

"  And  others  there  be  in  Ethiopia,  and  each  of  them  have  only 
one  foot,  so  great  and  so  large  that  they  beshadow  themselves 
with  the  foot  when  they  lie  gasping  on  the  ground  in  strong 
heat  of  the  sun ;  and  yet  they  be  so  swift  that  they  be  likened 
to  hounds  in  swiftness  of  running,  and  therefore  among  the 
Greeks  they  be  called  Cynopqdes.  Also  some  have  the  soles 
of  their  feet  turned  backward  behind  the  legs,  and  in  each 
foot  eight  toes,  and  such  go  about  and  stare  in  the  desert 
of  Lybia." 

Two  old  subjects  of  study  were  revived  and  received  great 
attention  in  Europe  from  the  thirteenth  century  onwards  until 
recent  times.    These  were  astrology  and  alchemy. 

Astrology  was  based  on  the  belief  that  the  planets  influence  the  Astrology 
make-up  of  men  and  consequently  their  fate.  Following  an  idea 
of  the  Greek  philosophers,  especially  xA^ristode,  it  was  believed 
that  all  things  were  compounded  of  "  the  four  elements  "  earth, 
air,  fire,  and  water.  Each  person  was  a  particular  mixture  of  these 
four  elements,  and  the  position  of  the  planets  at  the  time  of  his 
birth  was  supposed  to  influence  his  mixture  or  "temperament." 

By  knowing  a  person's  temperament  one  could  judge  what  he 
ought  to  do  in  order  to  be  successful  in  life,  and  what  he  should 


544  Outlines  of  European  History 

avoid.  For  example,  if  one  were  born  under  the  influence  of 
Venus  he  should  be  on  his  guard  against  violent  love  and  should 
choose  for  a  trade  something  connected  with  dress  or  adornment ; 
if  he  were  born  under  Mars  he  might  make  armor  or  horseshoes 
or  become  a  successful  soldier.  Many  common  words  are  really 
astrological  terms,  such  as  "  ill-starred,"  "  disastrous,"  "  jovial," 
"  saturnine,"  "  mercurial "  (derived  from  the  names  of  the 
planets).  Astrology  w^as  taught  in  the  universities  because  it 
was  supposed  to  be  necessar)'  for  physicians  to  choose  times 
when  the  stars  were  favorable  for  particular  kinds  of  medical 
treatment. 
Alchemy  Alchemy  was  chemistr}'  directed  toward  the  discovery  of  a 

method  of  turning  the  baser  metals,  like  lead  and  copper,  into 
gold  and  silver.  The  alchemists,  even  if  they  did  not  succeed 
in  their  chief  aim,  learned  a  great  deal  incidentally  in  their 
laboratories,  and  finally  our  modem  chemistry  emerged  from 
alchemy.  Like  astrology,  alchemy  goes  back  to  ancient  times, 
and  the  people  of  the  thirteenth  century  got  most  of  their  ideas 
through  the  Mohammedans,  who  had  in  turn  got  theirs  from 
the  Greek  books  on  the  subjects. 

Section  95.    Medieval  Universities  and  Studies 

All  European  countries  now  have  excellent  schools,  colleges, 
and  universities.  These  had  their  beginning  in  the  later  Middle 
Ages.  With  the  incoming  of  the  barbarian  Germans  and  the 
break-up  of  the  Roman  Emipire,  education  largely  disappeared 
and  for  hundreds  of  years  there  was  nothing  in  western  Europe, 
outside  of  Italy  and  Spain,  corresponding  to  our  universities  and 
colleges.  Some  of  the  schools  which  the  bishops  and  abbots 
had  established  in  accordance  with  Charlemagne's  commands 
(see  above,  p.  379)  were,  it  is  true,  maintained  all  through  the 
dark  and  disorderly  times  which  followed  his  death.  But  the 
little  that  we  know  of  the  instruction  offered  in  them  would 
indicate  that  it  was  very  elementary. 


Books  and  Science  in  the  Middle  Ages  545 

About  the  year  iioo  an  ardent  young  man  named  Abelard  Abelard, 
started  out  from  his  home  in  Brittany  to  visit  all  the  places  '  ""^^ 
where  he  might  hope  to  receive  instruction  in  logic  and  phi- 
losophy, in  which,  like  all  his  learned  contemporaries,  he  was 
especially  interested.  He  reports  that  he  found  teachers  in 
several  of  the  French  towns,  particularly  in  Paris,  who  were 
attracting  large  numbers  of  students  to  listen  to  their  lectures 
upon  logic,  rhetoric,  and  theology.  Abelard  soon  showed  his 
superiority  to  his  teachers  by  defeating  them  several  times  in 
debate.  So  he  began  lecturing  on  his  own  account,  and  such 
was  his  success  that  thousands  of  students  flocked  to  hear  him. 

Abelard  did  not  found  the  University  of  Paris,  as  has  some- 
times been  supposed,  but  he  did  a  great  deal  to  make  the  dis- 
cussions of  theological  problems  popular,  and  by  his  attractive 
method  of  teaching  he  greatly  increased  the  number  of  those 
who  wished  to  study. 

Before  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  the  teachers  had  be-  Origin  of  the 
come  so  numerous  in  Paris  that  they  formed  a  union,  or  guild,  of^Parir  ^ 
for  the  advancement  of  their  interests.  This  union  of  professors 
was  called  by  the  usual  name  for  corporations  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  universitas  ;  hence  our  word  "  university."  The  king  and 
the  Pope  both  favored  the  university  and  granted  the  teachers 
and  students  many  of  the  privileges  of  the  clergy,  a  class  to 
which  they  were  regarded  as  belonging,  because  learning  had 
for  so  many  centuries  been  confined  to  the  clergy. 

About  the  time  that  we  find  the  beginnings  of  a  university  or   Study  of  the 
guild  of  professors  at  Paris,  another  great  institution  of  learning  canon"a^v  in 
was  growing  up  at  Bologna.    Here  the  chief  attention  was  given,   bologna 
not  to  theology,  as  at  Paris,  but  to  the  study  of  the  law,  both 
Roman  and  church  (canon)  law.    Students  began  to  stream  to 
Bologna  in  greater  and  greater  numbers.    In  order  to  protect 
themselves  in  a  town  where  they  were  regarded  as  strangers, 
they  also  organized  themselves  into  unions,  which  became  so 
powerful  that  they  were  able  to  force  the  professors  to  obey  the 
rules  which  they  laid  down. 


546 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Other  uni- 
versities 
founded 


The  academic 
degree 


Simple 
methods  of 
instruction 


The  University  of  Oxford  was  founded  in  the  time  of  Henry  II, 
probably  by  English  students  and  masters  who  had  become  dis- 
contented at  Paris  for  some  reason.  The  University  of  Cambridge, 
as  well  as  numerous  universities  in  France,  Italy,  and  Spain, 
were  founded  in  the  thirteenth  century.  The  German  universities, 
which  are  still  so  famous,  were  established  somewhat  later,  most 
of  them  in  the  latter  half  of  the  fourteenth  and  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  The  northern  institutions  generally  took  the  great 
mother  university  on  the  Seine  as  their  model,  while  those  in 
southern  Europe  usually  adopted  the  methods  of  Bologna. 

When,  after  some  years  of  study,  a  student  was  examined 
by  the  professors,  he  was,  if  successful,  admitted  to  the  cor- 
poration of  teachers  and  became  a  7naster  himself.  What  we 
call  'a  degree  to-day  was  originally,  in  the  medieval  universi- 
ties, nothing  more  than  the  right  to  teach  ;  but  in  the  thirteenth 
century  many  who  did  not  care  to  become  professors  in  our 
sense  of  the  word  began  to  desire  the  honorable  title  of  f?iasfer 
or  doetor  (which  is  only  the  Latin  word  for  "teacher  ").■' 

The  students  in  the  medieval  universities  v/ere  of  all  ages, 
from  thirteen  to  forty,  and  even  older.  There  were  no  univer- 
sity buildings,  and  in  Paris  the  lectures  were  given  in  the  Latin 
Quarter,  in  Straw  Street,  so  called  from  the  straw  strewn  on  the 
floors  of  the  hired  rooms  where  the  lecturer  explained  the  text- 
book, with  the  students  squatting  on  the  floor  before  him.  There 
were  no  laboratories,  for  there  was  no  experimentation.  All 
that  was  required  was  a  copy  of  the  textbook.  This  the  lecturer 
explained  sentence  by  sentence,  and  the  students  listened  and 
sometimes  took  notes. 

The  most  striking  peculiarity  of  the  instruction  in  the  medieval 
university  was  the  supreme  deference  paid  to  Aristotle.    Most 


1  The  origin  of  the  bachelor's  degree,  which  comes  at  the  ead  of  our  college 
course  nowadays,  may  be  explained  as  follows  :  The  bachelor  in  the  thirteenth 
century  was  a  student  who  had  passed  part  of  his  examinations  in  the  course  in 
"arts,"  as  the  college  course  was  then  called,  and  was  permitted  to  teach  certain 
elementary  subjects  before  he  became  a  full-fledged  master.  So  the  A.B.  was 
inferior  to  the  A.M.  then  as  now. 


Books  and  Science  in  the  Middle  Ages  547 

of  the  courses  of  lectures  were  devoted  to  the  explanation  of   Aristotle's 
some  one  of  his  numerous  treatises  —  his  Physics,  his  Meta-  become 
p/i\'sics,   his    treatises    on    logic,   his  Ethics,   his    minor  works   known  in 

^    '  '  ^     '  '  the  West 

upon  the  soul,  heaven  and  earth,  etc.  Only  his  Logic  had  been 
known  to  Abelard,  as  all  his  other  works  had  been  forgotten. 
But  early  in  the  thirteenth  century  all  his  comprehensive  con- 
tributions to  science  reached  the  West,  either  from  Constantinople 
or  through  the  Arabs,  who  had  brought  them  to  Spain.  The 
Latin  translations  were  bad  and  obscure,  and  the  lecturer  had 
enough  to  do  to  give  some  meaning  to  them,  to  explain  what  the 
Arab  philosophers  had  said  of  them,  and,  finally,  to  reconcile 
them  to  the  teachings  of  Christianity. 

Aristotle  was,  of  course,  a  pagan.  He  was  uncertain  whether  \'eneration 
the  soul  continued  to  exist  after  death ;  he  had  never  heard  of  °^ '  "^^°^  ^ 
the  Bible  and  knew  nothing  of  the  salvation  of  man  through 
Christ.  One  would  have  supposed  that  he  would  have  been 
promptly  rejected  with  horror  by  the  ardent  Christian  believers 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  But  the  teachers  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tur)'  were  fascinated  by  his  logic  and  astonished  at  his  learn- 
ing. The  great  theologians  of  the  time,  Albertus  Magnus 
(d.  1280)  and  Thomas  Aquinas  (d.  1274),  did  not  hesitate  to 
prepare  elaborate  commentaries  upon  all  his  works.  He  was 
called  "  The  Philosopher  "  ;  and  so  fully  were  scholars  convinced 
that  it  had  pleased  God  to  permit  Aristotle  to  say  the  last  word 
upon  each  and  every  branch  of  knowledge  that  they  humbly 
accepted  him,  along  with  the  Bible,  the  church  fathers,  and  the 
canon  and  Roman  law,  as  one  of  the  unquestioned  authorities 
which  together  formed  a  complete  guide  for  humanity  in  conduct 
and  in  every  branch  of  science. 

The  term  "  scholasticism  "  is  commonly  given  to  the  beliefs  and  Scholas- 
method  of  discussion  of  the  medieval  professors.  To  those  who 
later  outgrew  the  fondness  for  logic  and  the  supreme  respect  for 
Aristotle,  scholasticism,  with  its  neglect  of  Greek  and  Roman 
literature,  came  to  seem  an  arid  and  profitless  plan  of  education. 
Yet,  if  we  turn   over  the   pages   of   the   wonderful  works  of 


ticism 


548 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Course  of 
study 


Petrarch  tries 
to  learn 
Greek 


Chrysoloras 
begins  to 
teach  Greek 
in  Florence, 
1396 


Thomas  Aquinas,  we  see  that  the  scholastic  philosopher  might 
be  a  person  of  extraordinary  insight  and  learning,  ready  to 
recognize  all  the  objections  to  his  position,  and  able  to  express 
himself  with  great  clearness  and  cogency.^  The  training  in 
logic,  if  it  did  not  increase  the  sum  of  human  knowledge, 
accustomed  the  student  to  make  careful  distinctions  and  pre- 
sent his  arguments  in  an  orderly  way. 

No  attention  was  given  to  the  great  subject  of  history  in  the 
medieval  universities,  nor  was  Greek  taught.  Latin  had  to  be 
learned  in  order  to  carry  on  the  work  at  all,  but  little  time  was 
given  to  the  Roman  classics.  The  new  modern  languages  were 
considered  entirely  unworthy  of  the  learned.  It  must  of  course 
be  remembered  that  none  of  the  books  which  we  consider  the 
great  classics  in  English,  French,  Italian,  or  Spanish  had  as  yet 
been  written. 

Although  the  medieval  professors  paid  the  greatest  respect  to 
the  Greek  philosopher  Aristotle  and  made  Latin  translations  of 
his  works  the  basis  of  the  college  course,  very  few  of  themi  could 
read  any  Greek  and  none  of  them  knew  much  about  Homer  or 
Plato  or  the  Greek  tragedians  and  historians.  In  the  fourteenth 
century  Petrarch  (1304-13 74)  set  the  example  in  Italy  of  care- 
fully collecting  all  the  writings  of  the  Romans,  which  he  greatly 
admired.  He  made  an  unsuccessful  effort  to  learn  Greek,  for  he 
found  that  Cicero  and  other  Roman  writers  were  constantly 
referring  with  enthusiasm  to  the  Greek  books  to  which  they 
owed   so  much. 

Petrarch  had  not  the  patience  or  opportunity  to  master  Greek, 
but  twenty  years  after  his  death  a  learned  Greek  prelate  from 
Constantinople,  named  Chrysoloras,  came  to  Florence  and  found 
pupils  eager  to  learn  his  language  so  that  they  could  read  the 
Greek  books.  Soon  Italian  scholars  were  going  to  Constanti- 
nople to  carry  on  their  studies,  just  as  the  Romans  in  Cicero's 
time  had  gone  to  Athens.    They  brought  back  copies  of  all  the 

1  An  example  of  the  scholastic  method  of  reasoning  of  Thomas  Aquinas  may 
be  found  in  Translations  and  Reprints^  Vol.  Ill,  No.  6. 


Books  and  Science  in  the  Middle  Ages'  549 

ancient  writers  that  they  could  find,  and  by  1430  Greek  books  Greek 
were  oace  more  known  in  the  West,  after  a  thousand  years  of  brought"?^ 
neglect.  Italy 

In  this  way  western  Europe  caught  up  with  ancient  times ;  The 
scholars  could  once  more  know  all  that  the  Greeks  and  Romans  "™^"^^  ^ 
had  known  and  could  read  in  the  original  the  works  of  Homer, 
Sophocles,  Herodotus,  Plato,  Aristotle,  Demosthenes,  and  other 
philosophers,  historians,  orators,  and  tragedians.  Those  who 
devoted  their  lives  to  a  study  of  the  literature  of  Greece  and 
Rome  were  called  Hutnanists.  The  name  is  derived  from  the 
Latin  word  humaftitas,  which  means  "  culture."  In  time  the 
colleges  gave  up  the  exclusive  study  of  Aristotle  and  substituted 
a  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  literature,  and  in  this  way  what 
is  known  as  our  "  classical "  course  of  study  originated. 


Section  96.    Beginnings  of  Modern  Inventions 

So  long,  however,  as  intellectual  men  confined  themselves  to 
studying  the  old  books  of  Greece  and  Rome  they  were  not  likely 
to  advance  beyond  what  the  Greeks  and  Romans  had  known. 
In  order  to  explain  modem  discoveries  and  inventions  we  have 
to  take  account  of  those  who  began  to  suspect  that  Aristotle  was 
ignorant  and  mistaken  upon  many  important  matters,  and  who 
set  to  work  to  examine  things  about  them  with  the  hope  of  find- 
ing out  more  than  any  one  had  ever  known  before. 

Even  in  the  thirteenth  century  there  were  a  few  scholars  who   Roger 
criticized  the  habit  of  relying  upon  Aristotle  for  all  knowledge,   attack  on 
The  most  distinguished  faultfinder  was  Roger  Bacon,  an  English   scholas- 
Franciscan  monk  (d.  about  1290),  who  declared  that  even  if 
Aristotle  were  very  wise  he  had  only  planted  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge and  that  this  had  "  not  as  yet  put  forth  all  its  branches  nor 
produced  all  its  fruits."    "  If  we  could  continue  to  live  for  end- 
less centuries  we  mortals  could  never  hope  to  reach  full  and 
complete  knowledge  of  all  the  things  which  are  to  be  known. 
No  one  knows  enough  of  nature  completely  to  describe  the 


550 


Outlines  of  European  Histo7y 


Bacon 
foresees 
great 
inventions 


Discoveries 
of  the 
thirteenth 
century 


peculiarities  of  a  single  fly  and  give  the  reason  for  its  color  and 
why  it  has  just  so  many  feet,  no  more  and  no  less."  Bacon  held 
that  truth  could  be  reached  a  hundred  thousand  times  better  by 
experiments  with  real  things  than  by  poring  over  the  bad  Latin 
translations  of  Aristotle.  "  If  I  had  my  way,"  he  declared,  "  I 
should  burn  all  the  books  of  Aristotle,  for  the  study  of  them  can 
only  lead  to  a  loss  of  time,  produce  error  and  increase  ignorance." 

Roger  Bacon  declared  that  if  men  would  only  study  common 
things  instead  of  reading  the  books  of  the  ancients,  science  would 
outdo  the  wonders  which  people  of  his  day  thought  could  be 
produced  by  magic.  He  said  that  in  time  men  would  be  able  to 
fly,  would  have  carriages  which  needed  no  horses  to  draw  them 
and  ships  which  would  move  swiftly  without  oars,  and  that 
bridges  could  be  built  without  piers  to  support  them. 

All  this  and  much  more  has  come  true,  but  inventors  and 
modern  scientists  ow^e  but  little  to  the  books  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  which  the  scholastic  philosophers  and  the  Humanists 
relied  upon.  Although  the  Greek  philosophers  devoted  consider- 
able attention  to  natural  science,  they  were  not  much  inclined  to 
make  long  and  careful  experiments  or  to  invent  anything  like 
the  microscope  or  telescope  to  help  them.  They  knew  very  little 
indeed  about  the  laws  of  nature  and  were  sadly  mistaken  upon 
many  points.  Aristotle  thought  that  the  sun  and  all  the  stars 
revolved  about  the  earth  and  that  the  heavenly  bodies  were  per- 
fect and  unchangeable.  He  believed  that  heavy  bodies  fell  faster 
than  light  ones  and  that  all  earthly  things  were  made  of  the  four 
elements  —  earth,  air,  water,  and  fire.  The  Greeks  and  Romans 
knew  nothing  of  the  compass,  or  gunpowder,  or  the  printing 
press,  or  the  uses  to  which  steam  can  be  put.  Indeed,  they  had 
scarcely  anything  that  we  should  call  a  machine. 

The  thirteenth  century  witnessed  certain  absolutely  new 
achievements  in  the  history  of  mankind.  The  compass  began 
to  be  utilized  in  a  way  to  encourage  bolder  and  bolder  ventures 
out  upon  the  ocean  (see  above,  section  91).  The  properties  of 
the  lens  were  discovered,  and  before  the  end  of  the  century 


Books  and  Science  in  the  Middle  Ages 


551 


spectacles  are  mentioned.    The  lens  made  the  later  telescope,   Arabic 

1  .,  ,  ,  .   ,  numerals 

microscope,  spectroscope,  and  camera  possible,  upon  which  so 
much  of  our  modern  science  depends.  The  Arabic  numerals 
began  to  take  the  place  of  the  awkward  Roman  system  of 
using  letters.  One  cannot  well  divide  XLVIII  by  VIII  but  he 
can  easily  divide 
48  by  8.  Roger 
Bacon  knew  of  the 
explosive  nature 
of  a  compound  of. 
sulphur,  saltpeter, 
and  charcoal,  and 
a  generation  after 
his  death  gunpow- 
der began  to  be 
used  a  little  for 
guns  and  artillery. 
A  document  is  still 
preserved  referring 
to  the  making  of 
brass  cannon  and 
balls  in  Florence 
in  the  year  1326. 
By  1350  powder 
works  were  in  ex- 
istence in  at  least  three  German  towns,  and  French  and  Eng- 
lish books  refer  now  and  then  to  its  use. 

At  least  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  elapsed,  however,  before 
gunpowder  really  began  to  supplant  the  old  ways  of  fighting 
with  bows  and  arrows  and  axes  and  lances.  By  the  year  1500 
it  was  becoming  clear  that  the  old  stone  casdes  were  insufficient 
protection  against  cannon,  and  a  new  type  of  unprotected  castle 
began  to  be  erected  as  residences  of  the  kings  and  the  nobility 
(see  below,  p.  570).  Gunpowder  has  done  away  with  armor, 
bows  and  arrows,  spears  and  javelins,  castles  and  walled  towns. 


Fig.  k 


Effects  of  Cannon  on  a 
Medieval  Castle 


552 


Outlines  of  Ejiropean  History 


Advantages 
of  printing 
with  mova- 
ble type 


Excellent 
work  of 
medieval 
copyists 


It  may  be  that  sometime  some  such  fearfully  destructive  com- 
pound may  be  discovered,  that  the  nations  may  decide  to  give 
up  war  altogether  as  too  dangerous  and  terrible  a  thing  to  resort 
to  under  any  circumstances. 

The  inventions  of  the  compass,  of  the  lens,  and  of  gunpowder 
have  helped  to  revolutionize  the  world.  To  these  may  be  added 
the  printing  press,  which  has  so  facilitated  and  encouraged  read- 
ing that  it  is  nowadays  rare  to  find  anybody  who  cannot  read. 

The  Italian  classical  scholars  of  the  fifteenth  century  suc- 
ceeded, as  we  have  seen  (pp.  548-549,  above),  in  arousing  a  new- 
interest  in  the  books  of  the  Greeks  as  well  as  of  the  Romans. 
They  carefully  collected  every  ancient  work  that  they  could  lay 
hands  on,  made  copies  of  it,  edited  it,  and  if  it  was  in  Greek, 
translated  it  into  Latin.  While  they  were  in  the  midst  of  this 
w'ork  certain  patient  experimenters  in  Germany  and  Holland 
were  turning  their  attention  to  a  new  way  of  multiplying  books 
rapidly  and  cheaply  by  the  use  of  lead  t}-pe  and  a  press. 

The  Greeks  and  Romans  and  the  people  of  the  Middle  Ages 
knew  no  other  method  of  obtaining  a  new  copy  of  a  book 
except  by  writing  it  out  laboriously  by  hand.  The  professional 
copyists  were  incredibly  dexterous  with  their  quills,  as  may  be 
seen  in  Fig.  199  —  a  page  from  a  Bible  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury which  is  reproduced  in  its  original  size.^    The  letters  are 

1  Figs.  199  and  200  are  reproductions,  exactly  the  size  of  the  original,  of  two 
pages  in  a  manuscript  Bible  of  the  thirteenth  century  (in  Latin)  belonging  to  the 
library  of  Columbia  University.  The  first  of  the  two  was  chosen  to  illustrate  the 
minuteness  and  perfection  of  the  best  work ;  the  second  to  show  irregularities 
and  mistakes  due  to  negligence  or  lack  of  skill  in  the  copyists. 

The  page  represented  in  Fig.  199  is  taken  from  i  Maccabees  i,  56-ii,  65  (a 
portion  of  the  Scriptures  not  usually  included  in  the  Protestant  Bibles).  It  begins, 
"...  ditis  fugitivorum  locis.  Die  quintadecima  mensis  Caslev,  quinto  et  quadra- 
gesimo  et  centesimo  anno  aedificavit  rex  Antiochus  abominandum  idolum  desola- 
tionis  super  altare  Dei :  et  per  universas  civitates  Juda  in  circitu  aedificaverunt 
aras  et  ante  januas  domorum,  et  in  plateis  incendebant  thura,  et  sacrificabant 
et  libros  legis  Dei  com[busserunt]."  The  scribes  used  a  good  many  abbrevia- 
tions, as  was  the  custom  of  the  time,  and  what  is  transcribed  here  fills  five  lines 
of  the  manuscript. 

The  second  less  perfect  page  here  reproduced  is  from  the  prophet  Amos, 
iii,  9-vii,  16.  It  begins,  "vinearum  vestrarum :  oliveta  vestra  et  ficeta  vestra 
comedit  eruca  et  non  redistis  ad  me,  dicit  Dominus." 


Plate  VIII.   Page  from  a  Book  of  Hours,  Fifteenth  Century 
(Original  Size) 


Books  and  Scie7ice  hi  the  Middle  Ages  553 

as  clear,  small,  and  almost  as  regular  as  if  they  had  been  printed,  illuminated 
The  whole  volume  containing  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  is  "^^""^^"P  ^ 
about  the  size  of  this  book.  After  the  scribe  had  finished  his 
work  the  volume  was  often  turned  over  to  the  iUummator^ 
who  would  put  in  gay  illuminated  initials  and  sometimes  page 
borders,  which  were  delightful  in  design  and  color.^  Books  de- 
signed to  be  used  in  the  church  services  w^ere  adorned  with  pic- 
tures as  well  as  with  ornamented  initials  and  decorative  borders. 
Plate  VIII  is  a  reproduction  of  a  page  from  a  Book  of  Hours 
in  the  library  of  Columbia  University.  It  is  the  same  size  as  the 
original. 

The  written  books  were,  in  short,  often  both  compact  and  Slow  process 
beautiful,  but  they  were  never  cheap  or  easily  produced  in  by  hand"*' 
great  numbers.  When  Cosimo,  the  father  of  Lorenzo  the 
Magnificent,  wished  to  form  a  library  just  before  the  in- 
vention of  printing,  he  applied  to  a  contractor  who  engaged 
forty-five  copyists.  By  working  hard  for  nearly  two  years 
they  were  able  to  produce  only  two  hundred  volumes  for  the 
new  librar}^ 

Moreover,  it  was  impossible  before  the  invention  of  printing  to  Errors  of 
have  two  copies  of  the  same  work  exactly  alike.  Even  with  the 
greatest  care  a  scribe  could  not  avoid  making  some  mistakes,  and  a 
careless  copyist  was  sure  to  make  a  great  many.  The  universi- 
ties required  their  students  to  report  immediately  any  mistakes 
discovered  in  their  textbooks,  in  order  that  the  error  might  not 
be  reproduced  in  another  copy  and  so  lead  to  a  misunderstand- 
ing of  the  author.  With  the  invention  of  printing  it  became 
possible  to  produce  in  a  short  time  a  great  many  copies  of  a 
given  book  which  were  exactly  alike.  Consequently,  if  suffi- 
cient care  was  taken  to  see  that  the  types  were  properly  set, 
the  whole  edition,  not  simply  a  single  copy,  might  be  relied 
upon  as  correct. 

1  The  word  "  miniature,"  which  is  often  applied  to  them,  is  derived  from  minium^ 
that  is,  vermilion,  which  was  one  of  the  favorite  colors.  Later  the  word  came  to 
be  applied  to  anything  small. 


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tftttnff'frtfftyTwtC'fiJctti  tlmi)?^tMQttftmtimj?npngtiiiniyTr 
;>S^fafjtcutcrp.tmmal>:  trnfrtirthfitwOTntetrnftmaC 
rfjfpto  I  r  utfT  Aicfui.  ct'caffit^iiifftoi^^i^illa  roftuift^flmig 
|lym«  qtiumtu  imintf4>t»jfm  tcQo  mdietiftaojppagB^ 
itiMf<»frwctlba  mmin«ntnou««itt'«tmcrfiri«'mim»j 

ttwgogi  mft»»  finttf  atftK  am*,'-  «tnmf oalamaminiA 
jwnmtf  «tm 'fiigtrfi«tr  4  tnaliC  addm  fettfjaarir  film  w 

pmatatjffttfttalaa^  trntCVtutuo*  inind;gtiim«nclii4.T 
tttcn€jgi«»iar4atutt«n«fm-C!Wictetar(&'attm«rrtti*r 


|c<^  it^tru  a-cafh^ttto  ncmpufeufi^mTif  uatmfagttatftf 
'^^xmtg  fila  eOmttmuLtxoientgit'j  Jutt^tmnuf  ne^ptcfti 
rtttgm^ttJtTnttnTTogjuoK  tfpwtt'F4tttnn<ttt^TWfrttrtp<fg' 

rtVoj3nt<bHaniI")oftphtntmpr4it«ttlh<^mlhi9«urrtii 
hsnmii-&tmf<^a>maiiif  gpypn-^n«»  pa«rnrsd«Jto 
jdwttla  .weeptrttftamtwirt  C»«rt»o^«*fiu^cajfi  3atpe;_ 
[mr  ulmni  ■etwTc^v  rfrt  (flviicpb  dum  rrthflamrciu 
Wtlu  dcc|>tt-lrmtemsn.'©4uii  mfua  mu  toir&nmtf 

jmfcd-m{dam.'ajun«rxsnue'rtnrfiul  nrtiftnrf  btaatt 
;t4»r  3rflitM,tn4nD«tttl  tn  Cia  fi«ipUma»1il»mrcft'af 

nt^l£DtUttn«  ^  tta  tJ33  tuUC  U^  l'iJi*lttdTUttJ  70tTUi<ii<0ttCtfi 

j|tomnd'ciJu1i«imrm«m»  n  in^mnam;  ffTJuWrnnpc 
|ta»arti*n -muumnr.  qtiU5ti  nxrT  ftcmri"  Tiimif c(fclj)l>tt- 
lawDnttt*  enw  tuninistmttttr  t)tud  emufltf  cmnam  €iam 
jr  agMari  cturjim'^otfg-  fllu  wttftrtatmrnimtflncrigL- 
«r m  Igp  quia  m  t|n  5lmflfi  mt».  <fr  «cc  tVttwa  fhtt^uw^ 
l(to^timt>»w«nfQuc(Vtpm<mxlar1ht^Ttfeci^H9fp>^ 


Fig.  199.   Page  from  a  Copy  of  the  Bible  made  in  the  Thirteenth 
Century,  showing  Perfection  of  the  Best  Work  (see  note  p.  552) 

554 


'^mo^* 


_j8^^«V«yeituunem*t-  3lul>*trubum  i(Vu^<i&^ 
yr  tcfut^prgtUigo  tfi-Kptt^  cnnctngfuX-  xtTg 

aixtt<vc-het{^(l{  •Ttinj7<lg«'Unolvtc'inti»W.-fl'ed4  ^ 

Jbetijcl  ettnttunUf-  tfi.ucrw«^mTn  -i  utarte-nrfinrt*_ 
o5bu*^tu»^ut  v»nifbo-m\ofeBb^u»»^T'<n  <Wtr<J 
'«nnafu.«:  beWT  <N«»  ov\n.uf»<  1^  T      fci  imw^u^t 
ciuirtiM<».l>fl«t4:nA»m.-xvuJKciAtt\fiAvcliit^r.   j 
f^cicrtcr-iCilunitn  ■roiwme''*S;.-iounutcnwmirt'^ 
~~   tnA*ieSl^'rJ>tcrtitt<'<trtnutj\rrtr-qutiio<s*r: 

■\iiinu5' i««tn  ctuO  »SXui  TuljujirtT  uAfhtn  to- fujj  iv- 

ly ^^^tM-ttaw- mjjcrxta.  a«iij>tettS'.^7rIc>ojuonte 

_  «'fccW.aV|;>onunitn{urtt^5><wxo^«)  <f5  ^vl'yn-^ 

.pt«twf  mun?^  jviii^  iTip»tm>^}3t7irc>r.'Jv  pm  -' 

(ttuciitr  l>»num-tn  m aIu  ur uiuatif.  cTcxxc^nvf^ 

.       •rpCi'ettuamuo^cumrtJfei.KifU/.^lnnrtnaXu'r^tli. 

y/ltniHyUmfplAnc^^incui-icKj-cTuefimrritm- 

:if*i^  citr  yUnctuf  «tU4  j^nan^lc  tnttte^to  tui^ic" 

.■mv-i^Kwrlconif-  7  «<:mt1t^ciurfixf.-z  ingxStar' 

__'^inu  rvi  -t  1  n  ni  tatxu- m^ rt u jUa  Imp  iM i-tftr^T  nt en. . 
J>M^  cum  coliitof  Tlumqut^  n  t«n<W-i  n  UwKcf 

—    Uicatcf  umf  Tfn  e^y  1-1111  oiui*-  «ecutitn^u<;(K«uiTTV> 
^_V^J«_^tCTi\cnnf-ntx£l5  iljolocaufhmi  4t2t_T  muntttt. 

__iir4it  fufaptam  a»ct  cc-pttigiuum  ut?tKutvr«it»i  '^ 
cuuri.  jLujW^TnMumulTu,  <wi-minuTue^^-r<Mntifti 


cr(k«)tfi<unn  obtuliftif  tTttniefnto  »aAtimfi»«rt 

A-mtgrai'euoffA«Xcwnf><iiriAfm>tF.inf  55  9^ 
WWentiiw  t%«mn?  ^<-5"t  (>^ut«in  tlViJ  «n|^<w^T^j>  ^ 

,  net  uttoenr  -rite-  tttW  tn  ettjgtH?  m^wwrn'-rb^jcdi  / 

,^.lui>im«it«ftnl«<rKriH>uwctr^Ufnumfm|}«i^^^^    ^ 

"tno  AVtn^vqutdinmfabtw«-yrAtftt'rve»Aui&gu^-^ 
Ti«i*anc(€'VnbffVAf4  c*nna.1^«bcntcf  inpb  i-iVf  "^'?'" 

cr otinmo  utiguiito  iettlnret  -inicljtl  •}j.iu«t<>ntut^ 

ftvc c»TtCT-irwmc'  xcC<rp{^,^ixAi^ nunc mtataW"^ 
X11  cA|)tw-Ti'mtf«iWpszutTm.  *r4ufaTtui>'rA«cwUr ' 

jfiutnnc'Sec*  lUiH  inSamo  UrtA-ltgV  »rua.t<mtuv^<f' 
f^nTnqm>)AbViuc»^Af^utn3tf'A"vtfp<mi!Bc^t5ri 

ftirrAT»isWm^ir«(>imr':f  fhjrmtufHHab  f/iHjiu^  tCy 

u/ibm  at  onarV'  uf^:  a>  «;  tStf^Kmi'Sj  f  Vn>'^^ 

iff^«r1ia-lJS-«rr>J»vi-'8v*^ifFe<te«J^C<W'<a-#>"i''^t 
■auifuiuih  efyuukiCcfe)  ifccC  ei>i(f^t,t  n  SXtr'aii, 

ftftiiwt<tfnincfMitu*«rr(tnulp&r«m.6ri.»>tt  ^ 
■ft  ii^sttftjuwice'^Tj  feffl? .  <n«tf  fufenllnrua&ti  qwisi. 

tfUwbju  \iOttf  AtviA^r  (v-  "Sn^  XmVlAytvonti."rvttai.-«f 

^(Stfnfai^aaintujjisnnu,  biit-elioini  tngLi^u}  ■^riWUtP' 
Luivc  «ni.tiiiitriitn<>fiH'm4*w^»mifi4?-  Vvu  eite-rvu- 1 

*<M^u  fu4  •  f^Myatnd  fuy  a^  £tm*f  <5.uii  ui1»j^C^-^' 

-iinVetijel  C4>ia«ftjJa\iu^|p!7oea-^mAicvfLC«ttii»  I 
!^•<2^fe"'^*<mv'^Sra5n^♦^,  ^ttVp<»nSwr4«\opKr'htj?3^ 


uttnvncui 


nunc  AuVi  ^um  >or 


Fig.  200.    Another  Page  from  the  Same  Volume  from  which  the 

Page  opposite  is  taken,  showing  Imperfections  and  Mistakes  of 

Poor  Copyists 

555 


556 


0?ttlmcs  of  European  History 


Paper 
introduced 
in  western 
Europe 


The  earliest 

printed 

books 


After  the  supply  of  papyrus  —  the  paper  of  the  Egyptians, 
Greeks,  and  Romans  —  was  cut  off  from  Europe  by  the  con- 
quest of  Egypt  by  the  Mohammedans  the  people  of  the  Middle 
Ages  used  parchfuent,  made  from  the  skin  of  lambs 
and  goats.  This  was  so  expensive  that  printing  would 
have  been  of  but  little  use,  even  if  it  had  been  thought 

KrTme  pralmoi^  roDtymmiftatf  rapiraliuttro  - 
ratuo  *rubrifaiionibufcp  fcfhiimtrr  Diftiniue' 
[aDmuf  nronr  artiftriora  imprimmDi  arraraderi^anDi: 
abfij  t)lla  ralami  r  f ararone  fir  rtftgiatim  *rr  ad  lauDtoi 
teiar  Ipnoiefantti  ^arDbitttofiimat9,per5oiem  fuft 
riufmagutmu*fr^ftm^dpiflfrtrgfmf^)iiidm^ 
^^nno  Dnipllefimo  mt*li)?*fjri]r*Die*niniri6^ugiilli^ 

Fig.  20 1.   Closing  Lines  of  the  Psalter  of  1459 
(Much  reduced) 

The  closing  lines  (that  is,  the  so-called  colop/iou)  of  the  second  edition  of 
the  Psalter,  which  are  here  reproduced,  are  substantially  the  same  as 
those  of  the  first  edition.  They  may  be  translated  as  follows  :  "  The 
present  volume  of  the  Psalms,  which  is  adorned  with  handsome  capitals 
and  is  clearly  divided  by  means  of  rubrics,  was  produced  not  by  writing 
with  a  pen  but  by  an  ingenious  invention  of  printed  characters  ;  and 
was  completed  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  honor  of  St.  James  by  John 
Fust,  a  citizen  of  Mayence,  and  Peter  Schoifher  of  Gernsheim,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1459,  on  the  29th  of  August " 

of,  before  paper  was  introduced  into  Europe  by  the  Moham- 
medans.^ Paper  began  to  become  common  in  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  centuries  and  was  already  replacing  parchment 
before  the  invention  of  printing. 

The  earliest  book  of  any  considerable  size  to  be  printed  was 
the  Bible,  which  appears  to  have  been  completed  at  Mayence  in 
the  year  1 456.  A  year  later  the  famous  Mayence  Psalter  was  fin- 
ished, the  first  dated  book  (Fig.  201).   There  are,  however,  earlier 

1  The  Arabs  seem  to  have  derived  their  knowledge  of  paper-making  from 
the  Chinese. 


Books  and  Science  in  the  Middle  Ages 


557 


examples  of  little  books  printed  with  engraved  blocks  and  even 
with  movable  types.  In  the  German  towns,  where  the  art  spread 
rapidly,  the  printers  adhered  to  the  style  of  letters  which  the 
scribe  had  found  it  convenient  to  make  with  his  quill  —  the  so- 
called  Gothic,  or  black  letter.  In  Italy,  however,  where  the  f ''^^ 
printing  press  was  set  up 
in  1466,  a  type  was  soon 
adopted  which  resembled 
the  letters  used  in  ancient 
Roman  inscriptions.  This 
was  quite  similar  to  the 
style  of  letter  commonly 
used  to-day.  The  Italians 
also  invented  the  com- 
pressed italic  type,  which 
enabled  them  to  get  a 
great  many  words  on  a 
page.  The  early  printers 
generally  did  their  work 
conscientiously,  and  the 
very  first  book  printed  is 
in  most  respects  as  well 
done  as  any  later  book. 

By  the  year  1500,  after 
printing  had  been  used 
less  than  half  a  century, 
there  appear  to  have  been 
at  least  forty  printing 
presses  to  be  found  in  va- 
rious towns  of  Germany,  France,  Italy,  the  Netherlands,  and 
England.  These  presses  had,  it  is  estimated,  already  printed 
eight  millions  of  volumes.  So  there  was  no  longer  any  danger 
of  the  old  books  being  again  lost,  and  the  encouragement  to 
write  and  publish  new  books  was  greatly  increased.  From 
that  date  our  sources  for  history  become  far  more  voluminous 


Fig.  202.   Ax  Old-fashioned 
Printing  Office 

Until  the  nineteenth  century  printing 
was  carried  on  with  very  little  machin- 
ery. The  type  was  inked  by  hand, 
then  the  paper  laid  on  and  the  form 
slipped  under  a  wooden  press  operated 
by  hand  by  means  of  a  lever 


^lack  letter 


558 


Oiitliiics  of  European  History 


than  those  which  exist  for  the  previous  history  of  the  world  ; 
we  are  much  better  informed  in  regard  to  events  and  con- 
ditions since  1500  than  we  ever  can  be  respecting  those  of 
the  earlier  periods. 


Development 
of  art  in 
Italy 


Florence  the 
art  center 
of  Italy 


Rome 

becomes  the 
center  of 
artistic 
activity 


Section  97.    The  Art  of  the  Renaissance 

We  have  already  described  briefly  the  work  of  the  medieval 
architects  and  referred  to  the  beautiful  carvings  that  adorned 
the  Gothic  cathedrals  and  to  the  pictures  of  saints  and  angels 
in  stained  glass  which  filled  the  great  church  windows.  But  in 
the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  art  developed  in  a  most 
astonishing  manner  in  Italy  and  set  new  standards  for  all  of 
western  Europe. 

Florence  was  the  great  center  of  artistic  activity  during  the 
fifteenth  century.  The  greatest  sculptors  and  almost  all  of  the 
most  famous  painters  and  architects  of  the  time  either  were 
natives  of  Florence  or  did  their  best  work  there.  During  the 
first  half  of  the  century  sculpture  again  took  the  lead.  The 
bronze  doors  of  the  baptistery  at  Florence  by  Ghiberti,  which 
were  completed  in  1452,  are  among  the  finest  products  of 
Renaissance  sculpture  (Fig.  203).^ 

Florence  reached  the  height  of  its  preeminence  as  an  art 
center  during  the  reign  of  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent,  who  was 
a  devoted  patron  of  all  the  arts.  With  his  death  (1492),  this 
preeminence  passed  to  Rome,  which  was  fast  becoming  one  of 
the  great  capitals  of  Europe.  The  art-loving  popes,  Julius  II 
and  Leo  X,  took  pains  to  secure  the  services  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished artists  and  architects  of  the  time  in  the  building  and 
adornment  of  St.  Peter's  and  the  Vatican,  that  is,  the  papal 
church  and  palace  (see  above,  p.  525). 

1  Opposite  the  cathedral  at  Florence  (Fig.  196)  stands  the  ancient  baptistery. 
Its  northern  bronze  doors,  with  ten  scenes  from  the  Bible,  surrounded  by  a  very 
lovely  border  of  foliage,  birds,  and  animals,  were  completed  by  Lorenzo  Ghiberti 
in  1452,  after  many  years  of  labor.  Michael  Angelo  declared  them  worthy  to  be 
the  gates  of  heaven. 


Fig.  203.   GHiBERirs  Uoors  at  Florence 


Fig.  204.   Holy  Family  by  Andrea  del  Sarto 


art  — 
Da  Vinci, 
Michael 


Books  and  Science  in  the  Middle  Ages  559 

During  the  sixteenth  century  the  art  of  the  Renaissance  Height  of 
reached  its  highest  development.  Among  all  the  great  artists  of  ^"^^^^"^^ 
this  period  three  stand  out  in  heroic. proportions  —  Leonardo  da 
Vinci,  Michael  Angelo,  and  Raphael.  The  first  two  not  only  Angelo, 
practiced,  but  achieved  distinction  in,  the  three  arts  of  archi- 
tecture, sculpture,  and  painting.^  It  is  impossible  to  give  in  a 
few  lines  any  idea  of  the  beauty  and  significance  of  the  work  of 
these  great  geniuses.  Both  Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo  left 
behind  them  so  many  and  such  magnificent  frescoes  and  paint- 
ings, and  in  the  case  of  Tvlichael  Angelo  statues  as  well  that  it 
is  easy  to  appreciate  their  importance.  Leonardo,  on  the  other 
hand,  left  but  litde  completed  work.  His  influence  on  the  art 
of  his  time,  which  was  probably  greater  than  that  of  either  of 
the  others,  came  from  his  many-sidedness,  his  originality,  and 
his  unflagging  interest  in  the  discover}'  and  application  of  new- 
methods.    He  was  almost  more  experimenter  than  artist. 

While  Florence  could  no  longer  boast  of  being  the  art  center  The  ^'enetian 
of  Italy,  it  still  produced  great  artists,  among  whom  Andrea  del 
Sarto  may  be  especially  mentioned  (Fig.  204).    But  the  most 
important  center  of  artistic  activity  outside  of  Rome  in  the  six- 
teenth centur\'  was  Venice.    The  distinguishing  characteristic 
of  the  Venetian  pictures  is  their  glowing  color.    This  is  strik-  Titian 
ingly  exemplified  in  the  paintings  of  Titian,  the  most  famous    ^^'^"''^^^ 
of  all  the  Venetian  painters.- 

It  was  natural  that  artists  from  the  northern  countries  should   Painting  in 
be  attracted  by  the  renown  of  the  Italian  masters  and,  after   Europe 
learning  all  that  Italy  could  teach  them,  should  return  home  to 
practice  their  art  in  their  own  particular  fashion.   About  a  century 
after  painting  began  to  develop  in  Italy  two  Flemish  brothers, 
Van  Eyck  by  name,  showed  that  they  were  not  only  able  to 
paint  quite  as  excellent  pictures  as  the  Italians  of  their  day,  but 
they  also  discovered  a  new  way  of  mixing  their  colors  superior 
to  that  employed  in  Italy.    Later,  when  painting  had  reached    DUrer 
its  height  in   Italy,   Albrecht   Diirer   and    Hans    Holbein   the     '"^'^  ^'~ 

1  Leonardo  was  engineer  and  inventor  as  well.  '^  See  Fig.  205. 


;6o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Rubens 
(1 577-1640) 
and  Rem- 
brandt 
(1607-1669) 

Van  Dyck 
(1599-1641) 
and  his 
portraits 

Velasquez 


Younger^  in  Germany  vied  with  even  Raphael  and  Michael 
Angelo  in  the  mastery  of  their  art.  Diirer  is  especially  cele- 
brated for  his  wonderful  woodcuts  and  copperplate  engravings, 
in  which  field  he  has  perhaps  never  been  excelled."'^ 

When,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  painting  had  declined  south 
of  the  Alps,  Dutch  and  Flemish  masters  —  above  all,  Rubens 
and  Rembrandt  —  developed  a  new  and  admirable  school  of 
painting.  To  Van  Dyck,  another  Flemish  master,  we  owe  many 
noble  portraits  of  historically  important  -persons.^  Spain  gave 
to  the  world  in  the  seventeenth  century  a  painter  whom  some 
would  rank  higher  than  even  the  greatest  artists  of  Italy,  namely, 
Velasquez  (i 599-1 660).  His  genius,  like  that  of  Van  Dyck,  is 
especially  conspicuous  in  his  marvelous  portraits. 


QUESTIONS 

Section  92.  Why  was  Latin  used  by  learned  men,  churchmen, 
scholars,  and  lawyers  in  the  Middle  Ages .?  What  is  the  origin  of  the 
Germanic  languages.^  of  the  Romance  tongues.''  When  does  English 
become  sufficiently  modern  for  us  to  read  it  easily  without  special  study? 
What  is  the  character  of  the  French  romances  of  the  Middle  Ages  ? 

Section  93.  Who  were  the  troubadours.^  Describe  chivalry 
and  the  ideal  knight. 

Section  94.  Why  did  people  know  little  of  history  in  the  Middle 
Ages  ?  Give  some  examples  of  the  beliefs  in  regard  to  the  habits  of 
animals  and  the  existence  of  strange  races  of  men.  What  value  was 
supposed  to  come  from  studying  the  habits  of  animals.?  Define 
astrology.  What  words  do  we  use  that  recall  the  beliefs  of  the 
Middle  Ages  in  regard  to  the  influence  of  the  stars  on  man .?  What 
was  alchemy .? 

Section  95.  W^ho  was  Abelard?  What  was  a  "university" 
originally?  Mention  some  early  universities.  W^hat  was  the  origin 
of  our  degrees?  What  subjects  were  studied  in  a  medieval  univer- 
sity? Why  was  Aristotle  so  venerated  by  the  medieval  scholars? 
What  was  scholasticism  ?  How  and  when  were  Greek  books  again 
brought  into  western  Europe  ?  Who  were  the  Humanists  ?  Why  did 
not  the  Humanists  make  any  discoveries? 

1  See  below,  Fig.  209.     -  See  below,  Fig.  211.    3  See  below,  Figs.  226  and  227. 


Books  and  Science  i7i  the  Afiddle  Ages  561 

Section  96.  Why  did  Roger  Bacon  criticize  the  enthusiasm  for 
Aristotle?  What  great  inventions  did  he  foresee?  What  great  new 
discoveries  were  made  in  the  thirteenth  century  ? 

What  effects  did  the  introduction  of  gunpowder  have?  How  were 
books  made  before  the  invention  of  printing?  What  are  the  dis- 
advantages of  a  book  copied  by  hand?  What  is  the  earliest  large 
printed  book?  How  rapidly  did  printing  spread?  What  do  you 
consider  the  chief  effects  of  the  introduction  of  printing? 

Section  97.  Say  something  of  the  chief  artists  of  the  Renais- 
sance in  Italy  and  their  work.  Name  some  of  the  artists  of  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  w^ho  lived  outside  of  Italv. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

EMPEROR  CHARLES  V  AND  HIS  VAST  REALMS 

Section  98.    Emperor  Maximilian  and  the 
Hapsburg  Marriages 


Charles  Vs 
empire 


Reasons  why 
the  German 
kings  failed 
to  establish 
a  strong 
state 


In  the  year  1500  a  baby  was  born  in  the  town  of  Ghent  who 
was  destined  before  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty  to  rule,  as 
Emperor  Charles  V,  over  more  of  Europe  than  any  one  since 
Charlemagne.  He  owed  his  vast  empire  not  to  any  conquests  of 
his  own  but  to  an  extraordinary  series  of  royal  marriages  which 
made  him  heir  to  a  great  part  of  western  Europe.  These  mar- 
riages had  been  arranged  by  his  grandfather,  Maximilian  I,  one 
of  the  most  successful  matchmakers  that  ever  lived.  Maximilian 
belonged  to  the  House  of  Hapsburg,  and  in  order  to  under- 
stand European  history  since  1500  we  must  learn  something  of 
Maximilian  and  the  Hapsburg  line. 

The  German  kings  had  failed  to  create  a  strong  kingdom 
such  as  those  over  which  Louis  XI  of  France  and  Henr)-'  VII 
of  England  ruled.  Their  fine  title  of  emperor  had  made  them 
a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  done  them  no  good,  as  we  have 
seen.^  Their  attempts  to  keep  Italy  as  well  as  Germany  under 
their  rule,  and  the  alliance  of  the  might}-'  bishop  of  Rome  with 
their  enemies  had  well-nigh  ruined  them.  Their  position  was 
further  weakened  by  the  fact  that  their  office  was  not  strictly 
hereditary.  Although  the  emperors  were  often  succeeded  by 
their  sons,  each  new  emperor  had  to  be  elected,  and  those  great 
vassals  who  controlled  the  election  naturally  took  care  to  bind 
the  candidate  by  solemn  promises  not  to  interfere  with  their 

1  See  above,  sections  6i,  72)-77- 
562 


Emperor  CJiarles  V  and  his  Vast  Realms         563 

privileges  and  independence.     The  result  was  that,  after  the  ^ 

downfall  of  the  Hohenstaufens,  Germany  fell  apart  into  a  great 
number  of  practically  independent  states,  of  which  none  were 
ver}^  large  and  some  were  extremely  small. 

After  an  interregnum,  Rudolf  of  Hapsburg  had  been  chosen   Rudolf  of 
emperor  in  1273  (see  above,  p.  458).    The  original  seat  of  the  ge^s  pos^&s- 
Hapsburgs,  who  were  destined  to  play  such  a  great  part  in   ^'°"  °/ 
European  affairs,  was  in  northern  Switzerland,  where  the  ves- 
tiges of  their  original  castle  may  still  be  seen.    Rudolf  was  the 
first  prominent  member  of  the  family ;  he  established  its  posi- 
tion and  influence  by  seizing  the  duchies  of  Austria  and  Styria, 
which  became,  under  his  successors,  the  nucleus  of  the  extensive 
Austrian  possessions. 

About  a  century  and  a  half  after  the  death  of  Rudolf  the  The  imperial 
German  princes  began  regularly  to  choose  as  their  emperor  the  practicaUy^^^ 
ruler  of  the  Austrian  possessions,  so  that  the  imperial  title  became,   hereditary 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  hereditary  in  the  Hapsburg  line,   of  Austria 
The  Hapsburgs  were,  however,  far  more  interested  in  adding 
to  their  family  domains  than  in  advancing  the  interests  of  the 
German  Empire  as  a  whole.    Indeed,  the  Holy  Roman  Empire 
was  nearly  defunct  and,  in  the  memorable  words  of  Voltaire,  it 
had  ceased  to  be  either  holy,  or  Roman,  or  an  empire. 

Maximilian,  while  still  a  very  young  man,  married  Mary  of 
Burgundy,  the  heiress  to  the  Burgundian  realms,  which  included 
what  we  now  call  Holland  and  Belgium  and  portions  of  eastern 
France.  In  this  way  the  House  of  Austria  got  a  hold  on  the 
shores  of  the  North  Sea.  Mary  died  in  1482  and  her  lands  were 
inherited  by  her  infant  son,  Philip.  Maximilian's  next  matri- 
monial move  was  to  arrange  a  marriage  between  his  son  Philip 
and  Joanna,  the  heiress  to  the  Spanish  kingdoms,  and  this 
makes  it  necessary  for  us  to  turn  a  moment  to  Spain,  of 
which  little  or  nothing  has  been  said  since  we  saw  how  the 
kingdom  of  the  Visigoths  was  overthrown  by  the  Mohammedan 
invaders,  over  seven  hundred  years  before  Maximilian's  time 
(section  59). 


564 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Arab  civiliza- 
tion in  Spain 


The  rise  of 
new  Chris- 
tian king- 
doms in 
Spain 


Granada  and 
Castile 


The  Mohammedan  conquest  served  to  make  the  history  of 
Spain  very  different  from  that  of  the  other  states  of  Europe. 
One  of  its  first  and  most  important  results  was  the  conversion 
of  a  great  part  of  the  inhabitants  to  Mohammedanism.  During 
the  tenth  century,  which  was  so  dark  a  period  in  the  rest  of 
Europe,  the  Arab  civilization  in  .  Spain  reached  its  highest  de- 
velopment. The  various  elements  in  the  population,  Roman, 
Gothic,  Arab,  and  Berber,  appear  to  have  been  thoroughly 
amalgamated.  Agriculture,  industry,  commerce,  art,  and  the 
sciences  made  rapid  progress.  Cordova,  with  its  half  million 
of  inhabitants,  its  stately  palaces,  its  university,  its  three  thou- 
sand mosques  and  three  hundred  public  baths,  was  perhaps 
unrivaled  at  that  period  in  the  whole  world.  There  were  thou- 
sands of  students  at  the  University  of  Cordova  at  a  time  when, 
in  the  North,  only  clergymen  had  mastered  even  the  simple 
arts  of  reading  and  writing.  This  brilliant  civilization  lasted, 
however,  for  hardly  more  than  a  hundred  years.  By  the  middle 
of  the  eleventh  century  the  caliphate  of  Cordova  had  fallen  to 
pieces,  and  shordy  afterwards  the  country  was  overrun  by  new 
invaders  from  Africa. 

But  the  Christians  were  destined  to  reconquer  the  peninsula. 
As  early  as  the  year  1000^  several  small  Christian  kingdoms 
—  Castile,  Aragon,  and  Navarre  —  had  come  into  existence  in 
the  northern  part  of  Spain.  Castile,  in  particular,  began  to  push 
back  the  Mohammedans  and,  in  1085,  reconquered  Toledo  from 
them.  Aragon  also  widened  its  bounds  by  incorporating  Barce- 
lona and  conquering  the  territory  watered  by  the  Ebro.  By 
1250,  the  long  war  of  the  Christians  against  the  Mohammedans, 
which  fills  the  medieval  annals  of  Spain,  had  been  so  success- 
fully prosecuted  that  Castile  extended  to  the  south  coast  and 
included  the  great  towns  of  Cordova  and  Seville.  The  Christian 
kingdom  of  Portugal  was  already  as  large  as  it  is  to-day. 

The  Moors,  as  the  Spanish  Mohammedans  were  called,  main- 
tained themselves  for  two  centuries  more  in  the  mountainous 


1  See  map  above,  p.  440. 


Emperor  Charles  V  and  Jiis  Vast  Realms         565 

kingdom  of  Granada,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula. 
During  this  period  Castile,  which  was  the  largest  of  the  Spanish 
kingdoms  and  embraced  all  the  central  part  of  the  peninsula, 
was  too  much  occupied  by  internal  feuds  and  struggles  over 
the  crown  to  wage  successful  war  against  the  Moorish  kingdom 
to  the  south. 

The  first  Spanish  monarch  whose  name  need  be  mentioned   Marriage  of 
here  was  Queen  Isabella  of  Castile,  who,  in  1469,  concluded   castiie  and 
an  all-important  marriage  with  Ferdinand,  the  heir  of  the  crown   ^^a^JJ^^"*^  °^ 
of  Aragon.     It  is  with  this  union  of  Castile  and  Aragon  that 
the  great  importance  of  Spain  in  European  history  begins.   For 
the  next  hundred  years  Spain  was  to  enjoy  more  military  power 
than  any  other  European  state. 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella  undertook  to  complete  the  conquest   Granada,  the 
of  the  peninsula,  and  in   1492,  after  a  long  siege,  the  city  of  stronghold, 
Granada  fell  into  their  hands,  and  therewith  the  last  vestige  of  ^^'^^ 
Moorish  domination  disappeared.^ 

In  the  same  year  that  the  conquest  of  the  peninsula  was  com-   Spain's  in- 
pleted,  the  discoveries  of  Columbus,  made  under  the  auspices  t^h^New"^ 
of  Queen  Isabella,  opened  up  sources  of  undreamed-of  wealth   ^uf^^'^^"' 
beyond  the  seas.    The  transient  greatness  of  Spain  in  the  six-  become  a 
teenth  century  is  largely  to  be  attributed  to  the  riches  which  power 
poured  in  from  her  American  possessions.    The  shameless  and 
cruel  looting  of  the  Mexican  and  Peruvian  cities  by  Cortes  and 
Pizarro  (see  above,  p.  531),  and  the  products  of  the  silver  mines 
of  the  New  World,  enabled  Spain  to  assume,  for  a  time,  a  posi- 
tion in  Europe  which  her  internal  strength  and  normal  resources 
would  never  have  permitted. 

Unfortunately,  the  most  industrious,  skillful,  and  thrifty  Persecution 
among  the  inhabitants  of  Spain,  that  is,  the  Moors  and  the  Jews,  and  Moors^ 
who  well-nigh  supported  the  whole  kingdom  with  the  products 

1  No  one  can  gaze  upon  the  great  castle  and  palace  of  the  Alhambra,  which 
was  built  for  the  Moorish  kings,  without  realizing  what  a  high  degree  of  culture 
the  Moors  had  attained.  Its  beautiful  and  impressive  arcades,  its  magnificent 
courts,  and  the  delicate  tracery  of  its  arches  represent  the  highest  achievement 
of  Arabic  architecture  (Fig.  146). 


566  Outlines  of  European  History 

The  revival  of  their  toil,  were  bitterly  persecuted  by  the  Christians.  So 
sition  "''"'  anxious  was  Isabella  to  rid  her  kingdom  of  the  infidels  that  she 
revived  the  court  of  the  Inquisition.^  F'or  several  decades  its 
tribunals  arrested  and  condemned  innumerable  persons  who 
were  suspected  of  heresy,  and  thousands  were  burned  at  the 
stake  during  this  period.  I'hese  wholesale  executions  have 
served  to  associate  Spain  especially  with  the  horrors  of  the 
Inquisition.  Finally,  in  1609,  a  century  after  Isabella's  death, 
the  Moors  were  driven  out  of  the  country  altogether.  The  per- 
secution diminished  or  disheartened  the  most  useful  and  enter- 
prising portion  of  the  Spanish  people,  and  permanently  crippled 
the  country. 

It  was  no  wonder  that  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  seemed  to  Maximilian  an  admirable  match  for  his 
son  Philip.  Philip  died,  however,  in  1506,  —  six  years  after 
his  eldest  son  Charles  was  born,  —  and  his  poor  wife,  Joanna, 
became  insane  with  grief  and  was  thus  incapacitated  for  ruling. 
So  Charles  could  look  forward  to  an  unprecedented  accumula- 
tion of  glorious  titles  as  soon  as  his  grandfathers,  Maximilian 
of  Austria  and  Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  should  pass  away.^  He 
was  soon  to  be  duke  of  Brabant,  margrave  of  Antwerp, 
count  of  Holland,  archduke  of  Austria,  count  of  Tyrol,  king 
of  Castile,  Aragon,  and  Naples,^  and  of  the  vast  Spanish 
possessions  in  America  —  to  mention  a  few  of  his  more 
important  titles. 

1  See  above,  pp.  483-484. 

2  Austria  Burgundy  Castile  Aragon     Naples,  etc. 

(America ) 
Maximilian  I  =r  Mar)'  (d.  14S2),  Isabella    =     Ferdinand  (d.  15 16) 

(d.  1519)      I     dau.  of  Charles  (d.  1504)     ! 

I  the  Bold  (d.  1477)  | 

Philip  (d.  1506)  Joanna  the  Insane  (d.  1555) 


Charles  V  (d.  1558)  Ferdinand  (d.  1564)  =  Anna,  heiress  to  kingdoms 

Emperor.  15 19-1556  Emperor,  1556-1564         of  Bohemia  and  Hungary 

•3  Naples  and  Sicily  were  in  the  hands  of  the  king  of  Aragon  at  this  time 
(p.  459). 


Emperor  Charles  V  and  his  Vast  Realms         567 

Ferdinand  died  in  15 16,  and  Charles,  now  a  lad  of  sixteen,   Charles  and 
who  had  been  born  and  reared  in  the  Netherlands,  was  much   posseSns 
bewildered  when  he  first  landed  in  his  Spanish  dominions.   The 
Burgundian  advisers  whom  he  brought  with  him  were  distasteful 


Fig.  205.    Charles  V  at  the  Age  of  48,  by  Titian 

to  the  haughty  Spaniards,  to  whom,  of  course,  they  were  for- 
eigners; suspicion  and  opposition  awaited  him  in  each  of  his 
several  Spanish  kingdoms,  for  he  found  by  no  means  a  united 
Spain.  Each  kingdom  demanded  special  recognition  of  its  rights 
and  proposed  important  reforms  before  it  would  acknowledge 
Charles  as  its  king. 


I 


568 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Charles 
elected  Em- 
peror, 15 19 


It  seemed  as  if  the  boy  would  have  his  hands  full  in  assert- 
ing his  authority  as  the  first  "  king  of  Spain  "  ;  nevertheless,  a 
still  more  imposing  title  and  still  more  perplexing  responsibilities 
were  to  fall  upon  his  shoulders  before  he  was  twenty  years  old. 
It  had  long  been  Maximilian's  ambition  that  his  grandson 
should  succeed  him  upon  the  imperial  throne.  After  his  death 
in  15 19  the  electors  finally  chose  Charles  as  Emperor  —  the 
fifth  of  that  name  —  instead  of  the  rival  candidate,  Francis  I 
of  France.  By  this  election  the  king-of  Spain,  who  had  not  yet 
been  in  Germany  and  who  never  learned  its  language,  became 
its  ruler  at  a  critical  juncture,  when  the  teachings  of  Luther 
(see  next  chapter)  were  adding  a  new  kind  of  trouble  to  the 
old  disorders. 


Section  99.    How  Italy  became  the  Battleground 
OF  THE  European  Powers 


Charles  VIII 
of  France 
invades  Italy 


In  order  to  understand  the  Europe  of  Charles  V  and  the 
constant  wars  which  occupied  him  all  his  life,  we  must  turn 
back  and  review  the  questions  which  had  been  engaging  the 
attention  of  his  fellow  kings  before  he  came  to  the  throne.  It 
is  particularly  necessary  to  see  clearly  how  Italy  had  suddenly 
become  the  center  of  commotion  —  the  battlefield  for  Spain, 
France,  and  Germany. 

Charles  VIII  of  France  (i  483-1 498)  possessed  little  of  the 
practical  sagacity  of  his  father,  Louis  XI  (pp.  435-436).  He 
dreamed  of  a  mighty  expedition  against  the  Turks  and  of  the 
conquest  of  Constantinople.  As  the  first  step  he  determined  to 
lead  an  army  into  Italy  and  assert  his  claim,  inherited  from  his 
father,  to  the  kingdom  of  'Naples,  which  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  House  of  Aragon.^    While  Italy  had  everything  to  lose  by 


1  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  popes,  in  their  long  struggle  with  Frederick  II 
and  the  Hohenstaufens,  finally  called  in  Charles  of  Anjou,  the  brother  of  St.  Louis, 
and  gave  to  him  both  Naples  and  Sicily  (see  above,  pp.  456  ff.).  Sicily  revolted 
in  1282  and  was  united  with  the  kingdom  of  Aragon,  which  still  held  it  when 


Emperor  Charles  V  and  his  Vast  Realms  569 

permitting  a  powerful  foreign  monarch  to  get  a  foothold  in  the 
South,  there  was  no  probability  that  the  various  little  states 
into  which  the  peninsula  was  divided  would  lay  aside  their 
animosities  and  combine  against  the  invader.  On  the  contrary, 
Charles  A'lII  was  urged  by  some  of  the  Italians  themselves 
to  come. 

Had  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent  still  been  alive,  he  might  have  Savonarola 
organized  a  league  to  oppose  the  French  king,  but  he  had  died  ^^m 
in  1492,  two  years  before  Charles  started.  Lorenzo's  sons 
failed  to  maintain  the  influence  over  the  people  of  Florence 
which  their  father  had  enjoyed  ;  and  the  leadership  of  the  city 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Dominican  friar,  Savonarola,  whose 
fervid  preaching  attracted  and  held  for  a  time  the  attention  of 
the  fickle  Florentine  populace.  He  believed  himself  to  be  a 
prophet,  and  proclaimed  that  God  was  about  to  scourge  Italy 
for  its  iniquities. 

When  Savonarola  heard  of  the  French  invasion,  it  appeared  Charles  vi  11 
to  him  that  this  was  indeed  the  looked-for  scourge  of  God, 
which  might  afflict,  but  would  also  purify,  the  Church.  As 
Charles  approached  Florence,  the  people  rose  in  revolt  against 
the  Medici,  sacked  their  palaces,  and  drove  out  the  three  sons 
of  Lorenzo.  Savonarola  became  the  chief  figure  in  the  new 
republic  which  was  established.^  Charles  was  admitted  into 
Florence,  but  his  ugly,  insignificant  figure  disappointed  the 
Florentines.  They  soon  made  it  clear  to  him  that  they  did  not 
regard  him  in  any  sense  as  a  conqueror,  and  would  oppose  a 
prolonged  occupation  by  the  French.  So,  after  a  week's  stay, 
the  French  army  left  Florence  and  proceeded  on  its  southward 
journey. 

Charles  V  came  to  the  Spanish  throne.  Naples  also  was  conquered  by  the  king 
of  Aragon,  and  was  in  his  family  when  Charles  ^'III  undertook  his  Italian 
expedition.  Louis  XI,  although  he  claimed  the  right  of  the  French  to  rule  in 
Naples,  had  prudently  refused  to  attempt  to  oust  the  Aragonese  usurpers,  as  he 
had  quite  enough  to  do  at  home. 

1  The  fate  of  Savonarola  was  a  tragic  one.  He  lost  the  confidence  of  the 
Florentines  and  aroused  the  opposition  of  the  Pope.  Three  years  after  Charles 
VI IPs  visit  he  was  accused  of  heresy  and  executed. 


570  Outlines  of  European  History 

Attitude  of  The  next  power  with  which  Charles  had  to  deal  was  the  Pope, 

°P^  who  ruled  over  the  states  of  the  Church.  The  Pope  was  greatly 
perturbed  when  he  realized  that  the  French  army  was  upon 
him.  He  naturally  dreaded  to  have  a  foreign  power  in  control 
of  southern  Italy  just  as  his  predecessors  had  dreaded  the  efforts 
of  the  Hohenstaufen  to  add  Naples  to  their  empire.  He  was 
unable,  however,  to  oppose  the  French  and  they  proceeded  on 
their  way. 
Charles  VIII  The  success  of  the  French  king  seemed  marvelous,  for  even 
unconquered  Naples  speedily  fell  into  his  hands.  But  he  and  his  troops  were 
demoralized  by  the  wines  and  other  pleasures  of  the  South,  and 
meanwhile  his  enemies  at  last  began  to  form  a  combination 
against  him.  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  was  fearful  lest  he  might 
lose  Sicily,  and  Emperor  Maximilian  objected  to  having  the 
French  control  Italy.  Charles's  situation  became  so  dangerous 
that  he  may  well  have  thought  himself  fortunate,  at  the  close 
of  1495,  to  escape,  with  the  loss  of  only  a  single  battle,  from 
the  countr}'  he  had  hoped  to  conquer. 
Results  of  The  results  of  Charles  VIII's  expedition  appear  at  first  sight 

expedition  trivial :  in  reality  they  were  momentous.  In  the  first  place,  it 
was  now  clear  to  Europe  that  the  Italians  had  no  real  national 
feeling,  however  much  they  might  despise  the  "  barbarians  " 
who  lived  north  of  the  Alps.  From  this  time  down  to  the 
latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  centur}^,  Italy  was  dominated  by 
foreign  nations,  especially  Spain  and  Austria.  In  the  second 
place,  the  French  learned  to  admire  the  art  and  culture  of  Italy 
(section  97).  The  nobles  began  to  change  their  feudal  castles, 
which  since  the  invention  of  gunpowder  were  no  longer  im- 
pregnable, into  luxurious  palaces  and  countr}^  houses.  The  new 
scholarship  of  Italy  also  took  root  and  flourished  not  only  in 
France  but  in  England  and  Germany  as  well,  and  Greek  began 
to  be  studied  outside  of  Italy.  Consequently,  just  as  Italy  was 
becoming,  politically,  the  victim  of  foreign  aggressions,  it  was  also 
losing,  never  to  regain,  that  intellectual  leadership  which  it  had 
enjoyed  since  the  revival  of  interest  in  Latin  and  Greek  literature. 


Einpejv}'  Chaj'les  V  and  his  Vast  Reahns          5  / 1 

It  would  be  wearisome  and  unprofitable  to  follow  the  at- 
tempts of  the  French  to  get  a  foothold  in  Milan.  Suffice  it 
to  say,  that  Charles  VIII  soon  died  and  that  his  successor 
Louis  XII  laid  claim  to  the  duchy  of  Milan  in  the  north  as  w^ell  as 
to  Naples  in  the  south.    But  he  concluded  to  sell  his  claim  to 


Fig.  206.    Francis  I 


Naples  to  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  and  centered  his  attention  on 
holding  Milan,  but  did  not  succeed  in  his  purpose,  largely  owing 
to  the  opposition  of  the  Pope. 

Francis  I,  who  came  to  the  French  throne  in  15 15  at  the  age 
of  twenty,  is  one  of  the  most  famous  of  the  French  kings.  He 
was  gracious  and  chivalrous  in  his  ideas  of  conduct,  and  his 
proudest  title  was  "  the  gentleman  king."  Like  his  contempo- 
raries, Pope  Leo  X,  son  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  and  Henry 
VIII  of  England,  he  helped  artists  and  men  of  letters  and  was 
interested  in  fine  buildings  (Fig.  207). 


572 


Outlines  of  Ejiropcaii  History 


Francis  I 
in  Italy 


Francis  opened  his  reign  by  a  very  astonishing  victory.  He 
led  his  troops  into  Italy  over  a  pass  which  had  hitherto  been 
regarded  as  impracticable  for  cavalry  and  defeated  the  Swiss 
—  who   were   in   the   Pope's   pay  —  at   Marignano.     He   then 


Fig.  207.    Court  of  the  Palace  at  Blois 

The  expedition  of  Charles  VIII  to  Italy  called  the  attention  of  French 
architects  to  the  beautiful  Renaissance  style  used  there.  As  cannon 
had  by  this  time  begun  to  render  the  old  kind  of  castles  with  thick 
walls  and  towers  useless  as  a  means  of  defense,  the  French  kings 
began  to  construct  magnificent  palaces  of  which  several  still  exist. 
Charles  VIII's  successor,  Louis  XII,  began  a  handsome  structure  at 
Blois,  on  the  Loire  River,  and  Francis  I  added  a  wing,  the  inner  side  of 
which  is  here  reproduced.  Its  magnificent  open  staircase  and  wide,  high 
windows  have  little  in  common  with  the  old  donjons  of  feudal  times 


The  republic 
of  Florence 
becomes  the 
grand  duchy 
of  Tuscany 


occupied  Milan  and  opened  negotiations  with  Leo  X,  who  was 
glad  to  make  terms  with  the  victorious  young  king.  The  Pope 
agreed  that  Francis  should  retain  Milan,  and  Francis  on  his 
part  acceded  to  Leo's  plan  for  turning  over  Florence  once  more 
to  the  Medici,  of  which  family  the  Pope  himself  was  a  member. 
This  was  done,  and  some  years  later  this  wonderful  republic 


Empero7' CJiarles  V  and  his  Vast  Rcabns          573 

became  the  grand  duchy  of  Tuscany,  governed  by  a  line  of  petty 
princes  under  whom  its  former  glories  were  never  renewed. 

Friendly  relations  existed  at  first  between  the   two   young   Sources  of 
sovereigns,  Francis  I  and  Charles  V,  but  there  were  several   beuv^een 
circumstances  which  led  to  an  almost  incessant  series  of  wars    France 

and  the 

between  them.  France  was  clamped  in  between  the  northern  Hapsburgs 
and  southern  possessions  of  Charles,  and  had  at  that  time  no 
natural  boundaries.  Moreover,  there  was  a  standing  dispute 
over  portions  of  the  Burgundian  realms,  for  both  Charles  and 
Francis  claimed  the  ducliy  of  Burgundy  and  also  the  neighboring 
cou?ity  Q>i  Burgundy  —  commonly  called  PYanche-Comte  (see  ac- 
companying map).  Charles  also  believed  that,  through  his  grand- 
father, Maximilian,  he  was  entitled  to  Milan,  which  the  French 
kings  had  set  their  hearts  upon  retaining.  For  a  generation  the 
rivals  fought  over  these  and  other  matters,  and  the  wars  be- 
tween Charles  and  Francis  were  but  the  prelude  to  a  conflict 
lasting  over  two  centuries  between  France  and  the  overgrown 
power  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg. 

In  the  impending  struggle  it  was  natural  that  both  monarchs  Henry  viri 
should  Xxy  to  gain  the  aid  of  the  king  of  England,  whose  friend-  i509-f547  ' 
ship  w^as  of  the  greatest  importance  to  each  of  them,  and  who 
was  by  no  means  loath  to  take  a  hand  in  European  affairs. 
Henry  VHI  had  succeeded  his  father,  Henry  VH,  in  1509 
at  the  age  of  eighteen.  Like  Francis,  he  was  good-looking  and 
graceful,  and  in  his  early  years  made  a  very  happy  impression 
upon  those  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  He  gained  much 
popularity  by  condemning  to  death  the  two  men  who  had  been 
most  active  in  extorting  the  '*  benevolences  "  which  his  father 
had  been  wont  to  require  of  unwilling  givers.  With  a  small  but 
important  class,  his  learning  brought  him  credit.  He  married, 
for  his  first  wife,  an  aunt  of  Charles  V,  Catherine  of  Aragon, 
and  chose  as  his  chief  adviser  Thomas  Wolsey,  whose  career 
and  sudden  downfall  were  to  be  strangely  associated  with  the 
fate  of  the  unfortunate  Spanish  princess.^ 

1  See  below,  pp.  609-611. 


574 


Oiitlifics  of  Ejiropcan  History 


Charles  V 
goes  to 
Germany 


In  1520  Charles  V  started  for  Germany  to  receive  the 
imperial  crown  at  Aix-la-Chapelle.  On  his  way  he  landed  in 
England  with  the  purpose  of  keeping  Henry  from  forming  an 
alliance  with  PYancis.  He  judged  the  best  means  to  be  that 
of  freely  bribing  Wolsey,  who  had  been  made  a  cardinal  by 
Leo  X,  and  who  was  all-powerful  with  Henr}^  Charles  there- 
fore bestowed  on  the  cardinal  a  large  annuity  in  addition  to 
one  which  he  had  granted  him  somewhat  earlier.  He  then  set 
sail  for  the  Netherlands,  where  he  was  duly  crowned  king  of 
the  Romans.  From  there  he  proceeded,  for  the  first  time,  to 
Germany,  where  he  summoned  his  first  diet  at  Worms. 

Section   100.    Condition  of  Germany  when 
Charles  V  became  Emperor 


Germany  of 
to-day 


The  "  Ger- 
manics "  of 
the  sixteenth 
century 


Weakness  of 
the  Emperor 


To  US  to-day,  Germany  means  the  German  Empire,  one  of 
the  three  or  four  best  organized  and  most  powerful  of  the 
European  states.  It  is  a  compact  federation,  somewhat  like 
that  of  the  United  States,  made  up  of  twenty-two  monarchies 
and  three  little  city-republics.  Each  member  of  the  union  man- 
ages its  local  affairs,  but  leaves  all  questions  of  national  impor- 
tance to  be  settled  by  the  central  government  at  Berlin.  This 
federation  is,  however,  less  than  half  a  century  old. 

In  the  time  of  Charles  V  there  was  no  such  Germany  as  this, 
but  only  what  the  French  called  the  "  Germanics  "  ;  that  is,  two 
or  three  hundred  states,  which  differed  greatly  from  one  another 
in  size  and  character.  This  one  had  a  duke,  that  a  count,  at  its 
head,  while  others  were  ruled  over  by  archbishops,  bishops,  or 
abbots.  There  were  many  cities,  like  Nuremberg,  Frankfort,  and 
Cologne,  which  were  just  as  independent  as  the  great  duchies 
of  Bavaria,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Saxony.  Lastly  there  were  the 
knights,  whose  possessions  might  consist  of  no  more  than  a 
single  strong  castle  with  a  wretched  village  lying  at  its  foot. 

As  for  the  Emperor,  he  no  longer  had  any  power  to  control 
his  vassals.    He  could  boast  of  unlimited  pretensions  and  great 


Emperor  CJiaides  V  and  his  Vast  Realms         575 


.Mil^^llr^ 


traditions,  but  he  had  neither  money  nor  soldiers.  At  the  time 
of  Luther's  birth  the  poverty-stricken  Frederick  III  (Maxi- 
milian's father)  might  have  been  seen  picking  up  a  free  meal 
at  a  monastery  or  , 

riding  behind  a  slow 
but  economical  ox 
team.  The  real 
power  in  Germany 
lay  in  the  hands  of 
the  more  important 
vassals. 

First  and  fore- 
most among  these  were  the 
seven  electors,  so  called  be- 
cause, since  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, they  had  enjoyed  the 
right  to  elect  the  Emperor. 
Three  of  them  were  arch- 
bishops —  kings  in  all  but 
name  of  considerable  terri- 
tories on  the  Rhine,  namely, 
the  electorates  of  Mayence, 
Treves,  and  Cologne.  Near 
them,  to  the  south,  was  the 
region  ruled  over  by  the  elector 
of  the  Palatinate ;  to  the 
northeast  were  the  territories 
of  the  electors  of  Brandenburg 
and  of  Saxony ;  the  king  of 
Bohemia  made  the  seventh  of 
the  group. 

Beside  these  states,  the  do- 
minions of  other  rulers  scarcely  less  important  than  the  electors 
appear  on  the  map.   Some  of  these  territories,  like  Wiirtemberg, 
Bavaria,  Hesse,  and  Baden,  are  familiar  to  us  to-day  as  members 


Fig. 


208.    The  Walls  of 
rothenburg 


One  town  in  Germany,  Rothen- 
burg,  on  the  little  river  Tauber, 
once  a  free  imperial  city,  retains 
its  old  walls  and  towers  intact  and 
many  of  its  old  houses.  It  gives 
the  visitor  an  excellent  idea  of  how 
the  smaller  imperial  towns  looked 
two  or  three  hundred  years  ago 


576  Outlines  of  European  History 

of  the  present  German  Empire,  but  all  of  them  have  been  much 
enlarged  since  the  sixteenth  century  by  the  absorption  of  the 
little  states  that  formerly  lay  within  and  about  them. 

The  towns  The  towns,  which  had  grown  up  since  the  great  economic 

revolution  that  had  brought  in  commerce  and  the  use  of  money 
in  the  thirteenth  century,  were  centers  of  culture  in  the  north  of 
Europe,  just  as  those  of  Italy  were  in  the  south.  Nuremberg, 
the  most  beautiful  of  the  German  cities,  still  possesses  a  great 
many  of  the  extraordinary  buildings  and  works  of  art  which  it 
produced  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Some  of  the  towns  were 
immediate  vassals  of  the  Emperor  and  were  consequently  in- 
dependent of  the  particular  prince  within  whose  territory  they 
were  situated.  These  were  called  free,  or  imperial,  cities  and 
must  be  reckoned  among  the  states  of  Germany  (Fig.  208). 

The  knights,  who  ruled  over  the  smallest  of  the  German 
territories,  had  earlier  formed  a  very  important  class,  but  the 
introduction  of  gunpowder  and  new  methods  of  fighting  put 
them  at  a  disadvantage,  for  they  clung  to  their  medieval  tra- 
ditions. Their  tiny  realms  were  often  too  small  to  support  them, 
and  they  frequently  turned  to  robbery  for  a  living  and  proved  a 
great  nuisance  to  the  merchants  and  townspeople  whom  they 
plundered  now  and  then. 

No  central  It  is  clear  that  these  states,  litde  and  big,  all  tangled  up  with 

one  another,  would  be  sure  to  have  disputes  among  themselves 
which  would  have  to  be  settled  in  some  way.  The  Emperor  was 
not  powerful  enough  to  keep  order,  and  the  result  was  that  each 

Neighbor-        ruler  had  to  defend  himself  if  attacked.    Neighborhood  war  was 

hood  war  •        i    i         i  -r  i  i-      •         • 

permitted  by  law  it  only  some  courteous  preliminaries  were 
observed.  For  instance,  a  prince  or  town  was  required  to 
give  warning  three  days  in  advance  before  attacking  another 
member  of  the  Empire  (see  above,  section  67). 

Germany  had  a  national  assembly,  called  the  diet,  which  met 
at  irregular  intervals,  now  in  one  town  and  now  in  another,  for 
Germany  had  no  capital  city.  The  towns  were  not  permitted 
to  send  delegates  until  1487,  long  after  the  townspeople  were 


power  to 
maintain 
order 


Empe7'or  Chai'les  ]^  and  his  Vast  Realms  577 

represented  in  France  and  England.  The  restless  knights  and 
other  minor  nobles  were  not  represented  at  all  and  consequently 
did  not  always  consider  the  decisions  of  the  diet  binding 
upon  them. 

It  was  this  diet  that  Charles  V  summoned  to  meet  him  on  the 
Rhine,  in  the  ancient  town  of  Worms,  when  he  made  his  first 
visit  to  Germany  in  1520.  The  most  important  business  of  the 
assembly  proved  to  be  the  consideration  of  the  case  of  a  uni- 
versity professor,  Martin  Luther,  who  was  accused  of  writing 
heretical  books,  and  who  had  in  reality  begun  what  proved  to 
be  the  first  successful  revolt  against  the  seemingly  all-powerful 
Medieval  Church. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  98.  When  and  how  did  the  House  of  Hapsburg  become 
important.?  What  marriages  were  arranged  by  Maximilian  I  which 
affected  the  history  of  Europe  ?  How  did  Spain  become  a  powerful 
kingdom.?  Over  what  countries  did  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  rule? 
What  was  the  extent  of  Charles  V's  dominions? 

Section  99.  Describe  the  Italian  expedition  of  Charles  VIII. 
What  were  its  results?  What  were  the  causes  of  trouble  between 
the  French  kings  and  the  Hapsburgs?  What  are  your  impressions 
of  Francis  I  ?   of  Henry  VIII  ? 

Section  too.  Contrast  Germany  in  Charles  V's  time  with  the 
German  Empire  of  to-day.  Who  were  the  knights?  the  electors? 
What  was  the  German  diet?  Why  was  the  Emperor  unable  to 
maintain  order  in  Germany  ? 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

MARTIN  LUTHER  AND  THE  REVOLT  OF  GERMANY 
AGAINST  THE  PAPACY 

Section   ioi.    The  Question  of  Reforming  the 
Church  :    Erasmus 


Break-up  of 
the  Medieval 
Church 


Europe 
divided  into 
Catholic  and 
Protestant 
countries 


Sources  of 
discontent 
with  the 
Church, 
especially  in 
Germany 


By  far  the  most  important  event  during  the  reign  of  Charles  V 
was  the  revolt  of  a  considerable  portion  of  western  Europe 
against  the  popes.  The  Medieval  Church,  which  was  described 
in  a  previous  chapter,  was  in  this  way  broken  up,  and  Protes- 
ta?it  churches  appeared  in  various  European  countries  which 
declared  themselves  entirely  independent  of  the  Pope  and  re- 
jected a  number  of  the  religious  beliefs  which  ever}^  one  had 
held  previously. 

With  the  exception  of  England  all  those  countries  that  lay 
within  the  ancient  bounds  of  the  Roman  Empire  —  Italy, 
France,  Spain,  Portugal,  as  well  as  southern  Germany  and 
Austria  —  continued  to  be  faithful  to  the  Pope  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  On  the  other  hand,  the  rulers  of  the  northern 
German  states,  of  England,  Holland,  Denmark,  Nonvay,  and 
Sweden,  sooner  or  later  became  Protestants.  In  this  way 
Europe  was  divided  into  two  great  religious  parties,  and  this 
led  to  terrible  wars  and  cruel  persecutions  which  fill  the  annals 
of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 

The  revolt  began  in  Germany.  The  Germans,  while  good 
Catholics,  were  suspicious  of  the  popes,  whom  they  regarded  as 
Italians,  bent  upon  getting  as  much  money  as  possible  out  of 
the  simple  people  north  of  the  Alps.  The  revenue  flowing  to 
the  popes  from  Germany  was  very  large.  The  great  German 
prelates,  like  the  archbishops  of  Mayence,  Treves,  and  Cologne. 

578 


The  Revolt  of  Germany  against  the  Papacy      5  79 

were  each  expected  to  contribute  no  less  than  ten  thousand 
gold  guldens  to  the  papal  treasury  upon  having  their  election 
confirmed  by  the  church  authorities  at  Rome.  The  Pope  en- 
joyed the  right  to  fill  many  important  church  offices  in  Germany, 
and  frequently  appointed  Italians,  who  drew  the  revenue  with- 
out performing  the  duties  attached  to  the  office.  A  single  per- 
son frequently  held  several  church  offices.  For  example,  early 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  archbishop  of  Mayence  was  at  the 
same  time  archbishop  of  Magdeburg  and  bishop  of  Halberstadt. 
There  were  instances  in  which  a  single  person  had  accumulated 
over  a  score  of  benefices. 

It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  impression  of  widespread 
discontent  with  the  condition  of  the  Church  which  one  meets 
in  the  writings  of  the  early  sixteenth  century.  The  whole  Ger- 
man people,  from  the  rulers  down  to  the  humblest  tiller  of  the 
fields,  felt  themselves  unjustly  used.  The  clergy  were  denounced 
as  both  immoral  and  inefficient.  While  the  begging  friars  —  the 
Franciscans,  Dominicans,  and  Augustinians  ^  —  were  scorned 
by  many,  they,  rather  than  the  ordinary  priests,  appear  to  have 
carried  on  the  real  religious  work. 

At  first,  however,  no  one  thought  of  withdrawing  from  the 
Church  or  of  attempting  to  destroy  the  power  of  the  Pope.  All 
that  the  Germans  wanted  was  that  the  money  which  flowed 
toward  Rome  should  be  kept  at  home,  and  that  the  clergy 
should  be  upright,  earnest  men  who  should  conscientiously 
perform  their  religious  duties. 

Among  the  critics  of  the  Church  in  the  early  days  of  Charles  V's  Erasmus, 
reign  the  most  famous  and  influential  was  Erasmus.  He  was  ^^  ^  ^^ 
a  Dutchman  by  birth,  but  spent  his  life  in  various  other  coun- 
tries —  France,  England,  Italy,  and  Germany.  He  was  a  citizen 
of  the  world  and  in  correspondence  with  literary  men  every- 
where, so  that  his  letters  give  us  an  excellent  idea  of  the 
feeling  of  the  times.     He  was  greatly  interested  in  the  Greek 

1  The  Augustinian  order,  to  which  Luther  belonged,  was  organized  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  a  Httle  later  than  the  Dominican  and  the  Franciscan. 


58o  Outlines  of  European  History 

and  Latin  authors,  but  his  main  purpose  in  life  was  to  better 
the  Church.  He  was  well  aware  of  the  bad  reputation  of  many 
of  the  clergymen  of  the  time  and  he  especially  disliked  the 


Fig.  209.    Portrait  of  Erasmus,  by  Holbein 

This  wonderful  picture  by  Hans  Holbein  the  Younger  (i 497-1 543) 
hangs  in  the  Louvre  gallery  at  Paris.  We  have  every  reason  to  suppose 
that  it  is  an  excellent  portrait,  for  Holbein  lived  in  Basel  a  considerable 
part  of  his  life  and  knew  Erasmus  well.  The  artist  was,  moreover, 
celebrated  for  his  skill  in  catching  the  likeness  when  depicting  the 
human  face.  He  later  painted  several  well-known  Englishmen,  including 
Henry  VHI  and  his  little  son  Edward  VI  (see  Fig.  214) 

monks,  for  when  he  was  a  boy  he  had   been  forced  into  a 
monastery,  much  against  his  will. 

It  seemed  to  Erasmus  that  if  ever)'body  could  read  the  Bible, 
especially  the  New  Testament,  for  themselves,  it  would  bring 
about  a  great  change  for  the  better.  He  wanted  to  have  the 
Gospels  and  the  letters  of  Paul  translated  into  the  language 


The  Revolt  of  Germany  against  the  Papacy       581 

of  the  people  so  that  men  and  women  who  did  not  know  Latin 
could  read  them  and  be  helped  by  them. 

Erasmus  believed  that  the  two  arch  enemies  of  true  religion  Erasmus' 
were  (i)  paganism,  into  which  many  of  the  more  enthusiastic  reHgion  ^"^ 
Italian  Humanists  fell  in  their  admiration  for  the  Greek  and  Latin 
writers ;  and  (2)  the  popular  confidence  in  outward  acts  and 
ceremonies,  like  visiting  the  graves  of  saints,  the  mere  repetition 
of  prayers,  and  so  forth.  He  claimed  that  the  Church  had  be- 
come careless  and  had  permitted  the  simple  teachings  of  Christ 
to  be  buried  under  myriads  of  dogmas  introduced  by  the  theo- 
logians. "  The  essence  of  our  religion,"  he  says,  "  is  peace  and 
harmony.  These  can  only  exist  where  there  are  few  dogmas  and 
each  individual  is  left  to  form  his  own  opinion  upon  many  matters." 

In  a  little  book  called  The  Praise  of  Polly  ^  Erasmus  has  much   in  his  Praise 
to  say  of  the  weaknesses  of  the  monks  and  theologians,  and  of   Erasmus 
the  foolish  people  who  thought  that  religion  consisted  simply  in   attacks  the 
pilgrimages,  the  worship  of  relics,  and  the  procuring  of  indul-   Church 
gences.    Scarcely  one  of  the  abuses  which  Luther  later  attacked 
escaped  Erasmus'  pen.    The  book  is  a  mixture  of  the  lightest 
humor  and  the  bitterest  earnestness.    As  one  turns  its  pages 
one  is  sometimes  tempted  to  think  Luther  half  right  when  he 
declared  Erasmus  "  a  regular  jester  who  makes  sport  of  every- 
thing, even  of  religion  and  Christ  himself." 

Yet  there  was  in  this  humorist  a  deep  seriousness  that  cannot 
be  ignored.  Erasmus  believed,  however,  that  revolt  from  the 
Pope  and  the  Church  would  produce  a  great  disturbance  and 
result  in  more  harm  than  good.  He  preferred  to  trust  in  the 
slower  but  surer  effects  of  education  and  knowledge.  Supersti- 
tions and  the  undue  regard  for  the  outward  forms  of  religion 
would,  he  argued,  be  outgrown  and  quietly  disappear  as  man- 
kind became  more  cultivated. 

He  believed,  moreover,  that  the  time  was  favorable  for  reform.   Erasmus 
As  he  looked  about  him  he  beheld   intelligent  rulers  on  the  times^favor^ 
thrones  of  Europe,  men  interested  in  books  and  art  and  ready  ^^J^^^"^ 
to  help  scholars  and  writers.  There  was  Henry  VIII  of  England 


582 


Outlines  of  European  History 


and  Francis  I  of  France.  Then  the  Pope  himself,  Leo  X,  the 
son  of  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent,  was  a  friend  and  admirer  of 
Erasmus  and  doubtless  sympathized  with  many  of  his  views. 
The  youthful  Charles  V  had  advisers  who  believed  Erasmus  to 
be  quite  right  and  were  ready  to  work  toward  a  reform  of  the 
Church.  Charles  was  a  devout  Catholic,  but  he  too  agreed  that 
there  were  many  evils  to  be  remedied.  So  it  seemed  to  Erasmus 
that  the  prospects  were  excellent  for  a  peaceful  reform  ;  but,  in- 
stead of  its  coming,  his  latter  years  were  embittered  by  Luther's 
revolt  and  all  the  ill-feelings  and  dissensions  that  it  created. 

Section  102.    How  Martin  Luther  revolted 

AGAINST    the    PaPACY 


Luther 
becomes  a 
professor 


Luther 
discards 
Aristotle 


Martin  Luther  was  born  in  1483.  He  was  the  son  of  a  poor 
miner,  and  he  often  spoke  in  later  life  of  the  poverty  and  super- 
stition in  which  his  boyhood  was  spent.  His  father,  however, 
was  determined  that  his  son  should  be  a  lawyer,  and  so  Martin 
was  sent  to  the  Lmiversity  of  Erfurt.  After  he  finished  his  college 
course  and  was  about  to  take  up  the  study  of  the  law  he  sud- 
denly decided  to  become  a  monk.  He  summoned  his  college 
friends  for  a  last  evening  together,  and  the  next  morning  he 
led  them  to  the  gate  of  a  monastery,  bade  them  and  the  world 
farewell,  and  became  a  begging  friar. 

He  was  much  worried  about  his  soul  and  feared  that  nothing 
he  could  do  would  save  him  from  hell.  He  finally  found  comfort 
in  the  thought  that  in  order  to  be  saved  he  had  only  to  believe 
sincerely  that  God  would  save  him,  and  that  he  could  not 
possibly  save  himself  by  trying  to  be  good.  He  gained  the  re- 
spect of  the  head  of  the  monaster}^  and  when  Frederick  the  Wise 
of  Saxony  (Fig.  211)  was  looking  about  for  teachers  in  his  new 
university  at  Wittenberg,  Luther  was  recommended  as  a  good 
person  to  teach  Aristotle ;  so  he  became  a  professor. 

As  time  went  on  Luther  began  to  be  suspicious  of  some  of 
the  things  that  were  taught  in  the  university.    He  finally  decided 


AeTHERNA  IPvSE  SVAE  mentis  SIMVLACHRi  LVTHEFyS 
EXPIRIMITXTWITVS  CERA   LVCAE  OCaDVOS 


Fig.  2IO.    Luther  as  a  Monk,  by  Cranach,  1520 

None  of  the  portraits  of  Luther  are  very  satisfactory.  His  friend 
Cranach  was  not,  like  Holbein  the  Younger,  a  great  portrait  painter. 
This  cut  shows  the  reformer  when  his  revolt  against  the  Church  was  just 
beginning.  He  was  thirty-seven  years  old  and  still  in  the  dress  of  an 
Augustinian  friar,  which  he  soon  abandoned 


583 


584 


Outlines  of  EiiJ'opeaji  History 


Luther's 
idea  of 
salvation 


Collection 
for  rebuild- 
ing St.  Peters 


Indulgences 


that  Aristotle  was  after  all  only  an  ancient  heathen  who  knew 
nothing  about  Christianity  and  that  the  students  had  no  business 
to  study  his  works.  He  urged  them  to  rely  instead  upon  the 
Bible,  especially  the  letters  of  St.  Paul,  and  upon  the  writings  of 
St.  Augustine,  who  closely  followed  Paul  in  many  respects. 

Luther's  main  point  was  that  man,  through  Adam's  sin,  had 
become  so  corrupt  that  he  could,  of  himself,  do  nothing  pleas- 
ing to  God.  He  could  only  hope  to  be  saved  through  faith  in 
God's  promise  to  save  those  who  should  repent.  Consequently 
"  good  works,"  such  as  attending  church,  going  on  pilgrimages, 
repeating  prayers,  and  visiting  relics  of  the  saints,  could  do 
nothing  for  a  sinner  if  he  was  not  already  "justified  by  faith," 
that  is,  made  acceptable  to  God  by  his  faith  in  God's  promises. 
If  he  was  "justified,"  then  he  might  properly  go  about  his  daily 
duties,  for  they  would  be  pleasing  to  God  without  what  the 
Church  was  accustomed  to  regard  as  "  good  works." 

Luther's  teachings  did  not  attract  much  attention  until  the 
year  1 5 1 7 ,  when  he  was  thirty-four  years  old.  Then  something 
occurred  to  give  him  considerable  prominence. 

The  fact  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the  popes  had 
undertaken  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Peter's,  the  great  central  church 
of  Christendom  (see  above,  p.  525).  The  cost  of  the  enterprise 
was  very  great,  and  in  order  to  collect  contributions  for  the 
purpose.  Pope  Leo  X  arranged  for  an  extensive  distribution 
of  indulgefues  in  Germany. 

In  order  to  understand  the  nature  of  indulgences  and  Luther's 
opposition  to  them,  we  must  consider  the  teaching  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  regard  to  the  forgiveness  of  sin.  The  Church  taught 
that  if  one  died  after  committing  a  serious  ("  mortal ")  sin  of 
which  he  had  not  repented  and  confessed,  his  soul  would  cer- 
tainly be  lost.  If  he  sincerely  repented  and  confessed  his  sin 
to  a  priest,  God  would  forgive  him  and  his  soul  would  be  saved, 
but  he  would  not  thereby  escape  punishment.  This  punishment 
might  consist  in  fasting,  saying  certain  prayers,  going  on  a  pil- 
grimage, or  doing  some  other  "good  work."    It  was  assumed, 


The  Revolt  of  Geinnaiiy  against  the  Papacy       585 

however,  that  most  men  committed  so  many  sins  that  even  if 
they  died  repentant,  they  had  to  pass  through  a  long  period  in 
purgatory,  where  they  would  be  purified  by  suffering  before 
they  could  enter  heaven. 

Now  an  indulgence  was  a  pardon,  issued  usually  by  the  Pope 
himself,  which  freed  the  person  to  whom  it  was  granted  from 
a  part  or  all  of  his  sufferi?ig  in  purgatory.  It  did  not  forgive 
his  sins  or  in  any  way  take  the  place  of  true  repentance  and 
confession ;  it  only  reduced  the  punishment  which  a  truly 
contrite  sinner  would  otherwise  have  had  to  endure,  either 
in  this  world  or  in  purgatory,  before  he  could  be  admitted  to 
heaven.^ 

The  contribution  to  the  Church  which  was  made  in  return  for 
indulgences  varied  greatly  ;  the  rich  were  required  to  give  a  con- 
siderable sum,  while  the  very  poor  were  to  receive  these  pardons 
gratis.  The  representatives  of  the  Pope  were  naturally  anxious 
to  collect  all  the  money  possible,  and  did  their  best  to  induce 
every  one  to  secure  an  indulgence,  either  for  himself  or  for  his 
deceased  friends  in  purgatory.  In  their  zeal  they  made  many 
claims  for  the  indulgences,  to  which  no  thoughtful  churchman 
or  even  layman  could  listen  without  misgivings. 

In  October,  15 17,  Tetzel,  a  Dominican  monk,  began  granting  Luther's 
indulgences  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wittenberg,  and  making  indulgenc 
claims  for  them  which  appeared  to  Luther  wholly  irreconcilable 
with  the  deepest  truths  of  Christianity  as  he  understood  and 
taught  them.  He  therefore,  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of 
the  time,  wrote  out  a  series  of  ninety-five  statements  in  regard 
to  indulgences.  These  theses,  as  they  were  called,  he  posted  on 
the  church  door  and  invited  any  one  interested  in  the  matter  to 
enter  into  a  discussion  with  him  on  the  subject,  which  he  believed 
was  very  ill  understood. 

1  It  is  a  common  mistake  of  Protestants  to  suppose  that  the  indulgence  was 
forgiveness  granted  beforehand  for  sins  to  be  committed  in  the  future.  There  is 
absolutely  no  foundation  for  this  idea.  A  person  proposing  to  sin  could  not  pos- 
sibly be  contrite  in  the  eyes  of  the  Church,  and  even  if  he  secured  an  indulgence, 
it  would,  according  to  the  theologians,  have  been  quite  worthless. 


586 


Outlities  of  Eitivpcau  History 


Fig.  211.    Portrait  of  Frederick  the  Wise,  by 
Albrecht  DiJRER 

Frederick  the  Wise,  Elector  of  Saxony,  was  very  proud  of  the  univer- 
sity that  he  founded  at  Wittenberg,  and,  while  he  was  a  devout  Catholic 
and  seems  hardly  to  have  understood  what  Luther  stood  for,  he  pro- 
tected his  professor  and  did  not  propose  to  have  him  tried  for  heresy 
by  the  Church.  The  portrait  is  a  fine  example  of  the  work  of  the  artist 
who  distinguished  himself  as  both  a  painter  and  an  engraver 


In  posting  these  theses,  Luther  did  not  intend  to  attack  the 
Church,  and  had  no  expectation  of  creating  a  sensation.  The 
theses  were  in  Latin  and  addressed,  therefore,  only  to  learned 
men.  It  turned  out,  however,  that  every  one,  high  and  low,  learned 
and  unlearned,  was  ready  to  discuss  the  perplexing  theme  of  the 


The  Revolt  of  Germany  against  the  Papacy       587 

nature  of  indulgences.    The  theses  were  promptly  translated  into   Contents  of 

German,  printed,  and  scattered  abroad  throughout  the  land.    In  these^^ 

these  Ninety-five  Theses  Luther  declared  that  the  indulgence  was 

very  unimportant  and  that  the  poor  man  would  better  spend  his 

money  for  the  needs  of  his  household.    The  truly  repentant,  he 

argued,  do  not  flee  punishment,  but  bear  it  willingly  in  sign  of 

their  sorrow.    Faith  in  God,  not  the  procuring  of  pardons,  brings 

forgiveness,  and   every   Christian   who   feels   true   sorrow  for 

his  sins  will  receive  full  remission  of  the  punishment  as  well  as 

of  the  guilt.    Could  the  Pope  know  how  his  agents  misled  the 

people,  he  would  rather  have  St.  Peter's  burn  to  ashes  than 

build  it  up  with  money  gained  under  false  pretenses.    Then, 

Luther  adds,  there  is  danger  that  the  common  man  will  ask 

awkward  questions.    For  example,  "  If  the  Pope  releases  souls 

from  purgatory  for  money,  why  not  for  charity's  sake  ?  "  or, 

"  Since  the  Pope  is  rich  as  Croesus,  why  does  he  not  build 

St.  Peter's  with  his  own  money,  instead  of  taking  that  of  the 

poor  man  ? " 

Luther  now  began  to  read  church  history  and  reached  the   Luther 
conclusion  that  the  influence  of  the  popes  had  not  been  very  suspicious  of 
great  until  the  times  of   Gregory  VII   (sections  75-76),  and  the  papacy 
therefore  that  they  had  not  enjoyed  their  supremacy  over  the 
Church  for  more  than  four  hundred  years  before  his  own  birth. 
He  was  mistaken  in  this  conclusion,  but  he  had  hit  upon  an 
argument  that  has  been  constantly  urged  by  Protestants  ever 
since.    They  assert  that  the  power  of  the  Medieval  Church  and 
of  the  papacy  developed  gradually  and  that  the  apostles  knew 
nothing  of  masses,  indulgences,  pilgrimages,  purgatory,  or  the 
headship  of  the  bishop  of  Rome. 

The  publication  of  Luther's  theses  brought  him  many  sympa-  Wide  diffu- 
thizers  in  Germany.    Some  were  attracted  by  his  protests  against   Luther's 
the  ways  in  which  the  popes  raised  money,  and  others  liked  him 
for  attacking  Aristotle  and  the  scholastic  theologians.    Erasmus' 
publisher  at  Basel  agreed  to  publish  Luther's  books,  of  which 
he  sent  copies  to  Italy,  France,  England,  and  Spain,  and  in  this 


works 


588 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Erasmus' 
attitude 
toward  the 
Lutheran 
movement 


Contrast 
between 
Luther  and 
Erasmus 


Luther 
begins  to 
use  violent 
language 


way  the  Wittenberg  monk  began  before  long  to  be  widely  known 
outside  of  Germany  as  well  as  within  it. 

But  Erasmus  himself,  the  mighty  sovereign  of  the  men  of 
letters,  refused  to  take  sides  in  the  controversy.  He  asserted  that 
he  had  not  read  more  than  a  dozen  pages  of  Luther's  writings. 
Although  he  admitted  that  "  the  monarchy  of  the  Roman  high 
priest  was,  in  its  existing  condition,  the  pest  of  Christendom,"  he 
believed  that  a  direct  attack  upon  it  would  do  no  good.  Luther, 
he  urged,  would  better  be  discreet  and  trust  that  as  mankind 
became  more  intelligent  they  would  outgrow  their  false  ideas. 

To  Erasmus,  man  was  capable  of  progress  ;  cultivate  him  and 
extend  his  knowledge,  and  he  would  grow  better  and  better. 
He  was,  moreover,  a  free  agent,  with,  on  the  whole,  upright 
tendencies.  To  Luther,  on  the  other  hand,  man  was  utterly  cor- 
rupt, and  incapable  of  a  single  righteous  wish  or  deed.  His 
will  was  enslaved  to  evil,  and  his  only  hope  lay  in  the  recogni- 
tion of  his  absolute  inability  to  better  himself,  and  in  a  humble 
reliance  upon  God's  mercy.  By  faith  only,  not  by  conduct, 
could  he  be  saved. 

Erasmus  was  willing  to  wait  until  every  one  agreed  that  the 
Church  should  be  reformed.  Luther  had  no  patience  with  an 
institution  which  seemed  to  him  to  be  leading  souls  to  destruc- 
tion by  inducing  men  to  rely  upon  their  good  works.  Both  men 
realized  that  they  could  never  agree.  For  a  time  they  expressed 
respect  for  each  other,  but  at  last  they  became  involved  in  a 
bitter  controversy  in  which  they  gave  up  all  pretense  to  friend- 
ship. Erasmus  declared  that  Luther,  by  scorning  good  works 
and  declaring  that  no  one  could  do  right,  had  made  his  follow- 
ers indifferent  to  their  conduct,  and  that  those  who  accepted 
Luther's  teachings  straightway  became  pert,  rude  fellows,  who 
would  not  take  off  their  hats  to  him  on  the  street. 

By  1520,  Luther,  who  gave  way  at  times  to  his  naturally 
violent  disposition,  had  become  threatening  and  abusive  and 
suggested  that  the  German  rulers  should  punish  the  church- 
men and  force   them   to   reform   their   conduct.    "  We  punish 


The  Revolt  of  Ge7'niany  against  the  Papaey       589 

thieves  with  the  gallows,  bandits  with  the  sword,  heretics  with 
fire  ;  why  should  we  not,  with  far  greater  propriety,  attack  with 
every  kind  of  weapon  these  very  masters  of  perdition,  the  cardi- 
nals and  popes."  "The  die  is  cast,"  he  writes  to  a  friend;  "I 
despise  Rome's  wrath  as  I  do  her  favor ;  I  will  have  no  recon- 
ciliation or  intercourse  with  her  in  all  time  to  come.  Let  her 
condemn  and  bum  my  writings.  I  will,  if  fire  can  be  found, 
publicly  condemn  and  burn  the  whole  papal  law." 

Luther  had  gained  the  support  of  a  German  knight  named   Luther's  and 
Ulrich  von  Hutten,  who  was  an  ardent  enemy  of  the  popes.   appeaUothe 
He  and  Luther  vied  with  one  another  during  the  year  1520  in   German 
attacking  the  Pope  and  his  representatives.    They  both  pos- 
sessed a  fine  command  of  the  German  language,  and  they  were 
fired  by  a  common  hatred  of  Rome.    Hutten  had  little  or  none 
of  Luther's  religious  fervor,  but  he  was  a  born  fighter  and  he 
could  not  find  colors  dark  enough  in  which  to  picture  to  his  coun- 
trymen the  greed  of  the  papal  curia,  which  he  described  as  a 
vast  den,  to-  which   everything  was   dragged  which   could   be 
filched  from  the  Germans. 

Of  Luther's  popular  pamphlets,  the  first  really  famous  one  Luther's 
was  his  Address  to  the  German  Nobility,  in  which  he  calls  upon  \jl^  German 
the  rulers  of  Germany,  especially  the  knights,  to  reform  the  Mobility 
abuses  themselves,  since  he  believed  that  it  was  vain  to  wait 
for  the  Church  to  do  so.  He  explains  that  there  are  three  walls 
behind  which  the  papacy  had  been  wont  to  take  refuge  when 
any  one  proposed  to  remedy  its  abuses.  There  was,  first,  the 
claim  that  the  clergy  formed  a  separate  class,  superior  even  to 
the  civil  rulers,  who  were  not  permitted  to  punish  a  churchman, 
no  matter  how  bad  he  was.  Secondly,  the  Pope  claimed  to  be 
superior  even  to  the  great  general  assemblies  of  the  Church, 
called  councils,  so  that  even  the  representatives  of  the  Church 
itself  might  not  correct  him.  And,  lastly,  the  Pope  assumed  the 
sole  right,  when  questions  of  belief  arose,  to  interpret  with 
authority  the  meaning  of  the  Scriptures ;  consequently  he  could 
not  be  refuted  by  arguments  from  the  Bible. 


590 


Outlines  of  E^iropean  History 


Luther  advo- 
cates social 
as  well  as 
religious 
reforms 


Luther  undertook  to  cast  down  these  defenses  by  denying,  to 
begin  with,  that  there  was  anything  especially  sacred  about  a 
clergyman  except  the  duties  which  he  had  been  designated  to 
perform.  If  he  did  not  attend  to  his  work,  it  should  be  possible 
to  deprive  him  of  his  office  at  any  moment,  just  as  one  would 
turn  off  an  incompetent  tailor  or  farmer,  and  in  that  case  he 
should  become  a  simple  layman  again.  Luther  claimed,  more- 
over, that  it  was  the  right  and  duty  of  the  civil  government  to 
punish  a  churchman  who  does  wrong  just  as  if  he  were  the 
humblest  layman.  When  this  first  wall  was  destroyed  the  others 
would  fall  easily  enough,  for  the  dominant  position  of  the  clergy 
was  the  very  cornerstone  of  the  Medieval  Church. 

The  Address  to  the  German  Nobility  closes  with  a  long  list 
of  evils  which  must  be  done  away  with  before  Germany  can 
become  prosperous.  Luther  saw  that  his  view  of  religion  really 
implied  a  social  revolution.  He  advocated  reducing  the  monas- 
teries to  a  tenth  of  their  number  and  permitting  those  monks 
who  were  disappointed  in  the  good  they  got  from  living  in  them 
freely  to  leave.  He  would  •  not  have  the  monasteries  prisons, 
but  hospitals  and  refuges  for  the  soul-sick.  He  points  out  the 
evils  of  pilgrimages  and  of  the  numerous  church  holidays,  which 
interfered  with  daily  work.  The  clergy,  he  urged,  should  be 
permitted  to  marry  and  have  families  like  other  citizens.  The 
universities  should  be  reformed,  and  "  the  accursed  heathen, 
Aristotle,"  should  be  cast  out  from  them. 

It  should  be  noted  that  Luther  appeals  to  the  authorities 
not  in  the  name  of  religion  chiefly,  but  in  that  of  public  order 
and  prosperity.  He  says  that  the  money  of  the  Germans  flies 
"  feather-light  "  over  the  Alps  to  Italy,  but  it  immediately  be- 
comes like  lead  when  there  is  a  question  of  its  coming  back. 
He  showed  himself  a  master  of  vigorous  language,  and  his 
denunciations  of  the  clergy  and  the  Church  resounded  like  a 
trumpet  call  in  the  ears  of  his  countrymen.^ 


1  Luther  had  said  little  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  in  his  Address  to  the 
German  Nobility^  but  within  three  or  four  months  he  issued  a  second  work,  in 


excommuni 


The  Revolt  of  Germany  against  the  Papacy      591 

Luther  had  long  expected  to  be  excommunicated.  But  it  was  Luthe 
not  until  late  in  1520  that  John  Eck,  a  personal  enemy  of  his,  ^ated 
arrived  in  Germany  with  a  papal  bull  (Fig.  212)  condemning 
many  of  Luther's  assertions  as  heretical  and  giving  him  sixty 
days  in  which  to  recant.  Should  he  fail  to  return  to  his  senses 
within  that  time,  he  and  all  who  adhered  to  or  favored  him 
were  to  be  excommunicated,  and  any  place  which  harbored  him 
should  fall  under  the  interdict.  Now,  since  the  highest  power  in 
Christendom  had  pronounced  Luther  a  heretic,  he  should  un- 
hesitatingly have  been  delivered  up  by  the  German  authorities. 
But  no  one  thought  of  arresting  him. 

The  bull  irritated  the  German  princes ;  whether  they  liked   The  German 
Luther  or  not,  they  decidedly  disliked  to  have  the  Pope  issuing   reluctant  to 
commands  to  them.    Then  it  appeared  to  them  very  unfair  that  buu^a  ^aSJt 
Luther's  personal  enemy  should  have  been  intrusted  with  the   Luther 
publication  of  the  bull.    Even  the  princes  and  universities  that 
were  most  friendly  to  the  Pope  published  the  bull  with  great 
reluctance.   In  many  cases  the  bull  was  ignored   altogether. 
Luther's  own  sovereign,  the  elector  of  Saxony,  while  no  con- 
vert to  the  new  views,  was  anxious  that  Luther's  case  should 
be  fairly  considered,  and  continued  to  protect  him.    One  mighty 
prince,  however,  the  young  Emperor  Charles  V,  promptly  and 
willingly  published  the  bull ;  not,  however,  as  Emperor,  but  as 
ruler  of  the  Austrian  dominions  and  of  the  Netherlands.   Luther's 
works  were  publicly  burned  at  Louvain,  Mayence,  and  Cologne, 
the  strongholds  of  the  old  theology. 

The  Wittenberg  professor  felt  himself  forced  to  oppose  him-   Luther  defies 
self  to  both  Pope  and  Emperor.    "  Hard  it  is,"  he  exclaimed,   Ernperor, 
"  to  be  forced  to  contradict  all  the  prelates  and  princes,  but   p"™e>s^bull 
there  is  no  other  way  to  escape  hell  and  God's  anger."    Late   1520 

which  he  sought  to  overthrow  the  whole  system  of  the  sacraments,  as  it  had 
been  taught  by  the  theologians.  Four  of  the  seven  sacraments  —  ordination, 
marriage,  confirmation,  and  extreme  unction  —  he  rejected  altogether.  He  re- 
vised the  conception  of  the  Mass,  or  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  priest  was,  in 
his  eyes,  only  a  minister,  in  the  Protestant  sense  of  the  word,  one  of  whose 
chief  functions  was  preaching. 


592 


Outlines  of  Ejiropeaii  History 


in  1520  he  summoned  his  students  to  witness  what  he  called 
"a  pious  religious  spectacle."  He  had  a  fire  built  outside  the 
walls  of  Wittenberg  and  cast  into  it  Leo  X's  bull  condemning  him, 

crfcquartum. 


Fig.  212.    The  Papal  Bull  directed  against  Luther,  1521 

This  is  a  much-reduced  reproduction  of  the  title-page  of  the  Pope's  bull 

"  against  the   errors  of   Martin   Luther  and  his  followers  "  as  it  was 

printed  and  distributed  in  Germany.    The  coat  of  arms  with  its  "balls" 

is  that  of  the  Medici  family  to  which  Leo  X  belonged 

and  a  copy  of  the  Laws  of  the  Church,  together  with  a  volume 
of  scholastic  theology  which  he  specially  disliked. 

Yet  Luther  dreaded  disorder.    He  was  certainly  sometimes 
reckless  and  violent  in  his  writings  and  often  said  that  bloodshed 


a 

violent  reali- 
zation of  his 


The  Revolt  of  Germmty  against  the  Papacy       593 

could  not  be  avoided  when  it  should  please  God  to  visit  his   Luther's 
judgments  upon  the  stiff-necked  and   perverse  generation   of  towa"/ 
"  Romanists,"  as  the  Germans  contemptuously  called  the  sup- 
porters of  the  Pope.    Yet  he  always  discouraged  hasty  reform,    reforms 
He  was  reluctant  to  make  changes,  except  in  belief.    He  held 
that  so  long  as  an  institution  did  not  actually  mislead,  it  did  no 
harm.    He  was,  in  short,  no  fanatic  at  heart. 

Section  103.    The  Diet  at  Worms,  i 520-1 521 

The   Pope's   chief  representative  in  Germany,   named  Ale-  Views  of  the 
ander,  wrote  as  follows  to  Leo  X   about  this  time :    "I   am   sentoti^ve"^^ 
prettv  familiar  with  the  history  of  this  German  nation.    I  know   on  public 

"        ^  •'  ■  opinion  in 

their  past  heresies,  councils,  and  schisms,  but  never  were  affairs  Germany 
so  serious  before.  Compared  with  present  conditions,  the  struggle 
between  Henry  IV  and  Gregory  VH  was  as  violets  and  roses. 
.  .  .  These  mad  dogs  are  now  well  equipped  with  knowledge 
and  arms  ;  they  boast  that  they  are  no  longer  ignorant  brutes  like 
their  predecessors ;  they  claim  that  Italy  has  lost  the  monopoly 
of  the  sciences  and  that  the  Tiber  now  flows  into  the  Rhine. 
Nine-tenths  of  the  Germans  are  shouting  '  Luther,'  and  the  other 
tenth  goes  so  far  at  least  as  '  Death  to  the  Roman  curia.'  " 

Among  the  enemies  of  Luther  and  his  supporters  none  was   Charles  v's 
more  important  than  the  young  Emperor.    It  was  toward  the   pathy'^wi^th'" 
end  of  the  year  1520  that  Charles  came  to  Germany  for  the   ^^foS^™s^" 
first  time.    After  being  crowned  king  of  the  Romans  at  Aix- 
la-Chapelle,  he  assumed,  with  the  Pope's  consent,  the  title  of 
Emperor  elect,  as  his  grandfather  Maximilian  had  done.    He 
then  moved  on  to  the  town  of  Worms,  where  he  was  to  hold 
his  first  diet  and  face  the  German  situation. 

Although  scarcely  more  than  a  boy  in  years,  Charles  had 
already  begun  to  take  life  very  seriously.  He  had  decided  that 
Spain,  not  Germany,  was  to  be  the  bulwark  and  citadel  of  all 
his  realms.  Like  the  more  enlightened  of  his  Spanish  subjects, 
he  realized  the  need  of  reforming  the  Church,  but  he  had  no 


594 


Outlines  of  Europe  an  History 


Luther  sum- 
moned to  the 
diet  at 
Worms 


Luther  be- 
fore the  diet 


sympathy  whatever  with  any  change  of  religious  belief.  He 
proposed  to  live  and  die  a  devout  Catholic  of  the  old  type,  such 
as  his  orthodox  ancestors  had  been.  He  felt,  moreover,  that  he 
must  maintain  the  same  religion  in  all  parts  of  his  heterogeneous 
dominions.  If  he  should  permit  the  Germans  to  declare  their 
independence  of  the  Church,  the  next  step  would  be  for  them 
to  claim  that  they  had  a  right  to  regulate  their  government 
regardless  of  their  Emperor. 

Upon  arriving  at  Worms  the  case  of  Luther  was  at  once 
forced  upon  Charles's  attention  by  Aleander,  the  papal  repre- 
sentative, who  was  indefatigable  in  urging  him  to  outlaw  the 
heretic  without  further  delay.  While  Charles  seemed  convinced 
of  Luther's  guilt,  he  could  not  proceed  against  him  without 
serious  danger.  The  monk  had  become  a  sort  of  national  hero 
and  had  the  support  of  the  powerful  elector  of  Saxony.  Other 
princes,  who  had  ordinarily  no  wish  to  protect  a  heretic,  felt 
that  Luther's  denunciation  of  the  evils  in  the  Church  and  of 
the  actions  of  the  Pope  was  very  gratifying.  After  much  dis- 
cussion it  was  finally  arranged,  to  the  great  disgust  of  the 
zealous  Aleander,  that  Luther  should  be  summoned  to  Worms 
and  be  given  an  opportunity  to  face  the  German  nation  and 
the  Emperor,  and  to  declare  plainly  whether  he  was  the  author 
of  the  heretical  books  ascribed  to  him,  and  whether  he  still 
adhered  to  the  doctrines  which  the  Pope  had  condemned. 

The  Emperor  accordingly  wrote  the  "  honorable  and  respected  " 
Luther  a  very  polite  letter,  desiring  him  to  appear  at  Worms 
and  granting  him  a  safe-conduct  thither. 

It  was  not,  however,  proposed  to  give  Luther  an  opportunity 
to  defend  his  beliefs  before  the  diet.  When  he  appeared  he 
was  simply  asked  if  a  pile  of  his  Latin  and  German  works 
were  really  his,  and,  if  so,  whether  he  revoked  what  he  had 
said  in  them.  To  the  first  question  the  monk  replied  in  a  low 
voice  that  he  had  written  these  and  more.  As  to  the  second 
question,  which  involved  the  welfare  of  the  soul  and  the  Word 
of  God,  he  asked  that  he  might  have  a  little  while  to  consider. 


The  Revolt  of  Germany  against  the  Papacy       595 

The  following  day,  in  a  Latin  address  which  he  repeated  in 
German,  he  admitted  that  he  had  been  overviolent  in  his  attacks 
upon  his  opponents ;  but  he  said  that  no  one  could  deny  that, 
through  the  popes'  decrees,  the  consciences  of  faithful  Chris- 
tians had  been  tormented,  and  their  goods  and  possessions, 
especially  in  Germany,  devoured.  Should  he  recant  those  things 
which  he  had  said  against  the  popes'  conduct,  he  would  only 
strengthen  the  papal  tyranny  and  give  an  opportunity  for  new 
usurpations.  If,  however,  adequate  arguments  against  his  posi- 
tion could  be  found  in  the  Scriptures,  he  would  gladly  and 
willingly  recant. 

There  was  now  nothing  for  the  Emperor  to  do  but  to  outlaw  The  Emperor 
Luther,  who  had  denied  the  binding  character  of  the  commands   lavv'^to  outlaw 
of  the  head  of  the  Church.    Aleander  was  accordingly  assigned   Luther 
the  agreeable  duty  of  drafting  the  famous  Edict  of  Worms. 

This  document  declared  Luther  an  outlaw  on  the  following  The  Edict  of 
grounds:  that  he  questioned  the  recognized  number  and  char-  °'^"^^'  ^^^^ 
acter  of  the  sacraments,  impeached  the  regulations  in  regard 
to  the  marriage  of  the  clergy,  scorned  and  vilified  the  Pope, 
despised  the  priesthood  and  stirred  up  the  laity  to  dip  their 
hands  in  the  blood  of  the  clergy,  denied  free  will,  taught  licen- 
tiousness, despised  authority,  advocated  a  brutish  existence,  and 
was  a  menace  to  Church  and  State  alike.  Every  one  was  for- 
bidden to  give  the  heretic  food,  drink,  or  shelter,  and  required 
to  seize  him  and  deliver  him  to  the  Emperor. 

Moreover,  the  decree  provides  that  "  no  one  shall  dare  to 
buy,  sell,  read,  preserve,  copy,  print,  or  cause  to  be  copied  or 
printed,  any  books  of  the  aforesaid  Martin  Luther,  condemned 
by  our  holy  father  the  Pope,  as  aforesaid,  or  any  other  writings 
in  German  or  Latin  hitherto  composed  by  him,  since  they  are 
foul,  noxious,  suspected,  and  published  by  a  notorious  and  stiff- 
necked  heretic.  Neither  shall  any  one  dare  to  affirm  his  opinions, 
or  proclaim,  defend,  or  advance  them  in  any  other  way  that  human 
ingenuity  can  invent,  —  notwithstanding  that  he  may  have  put 
some  good  into  his  writings  in  order  to  deceive  the  simple  man." 


596 


Outlines  of  European  History 


"  I  am  becoming  ashamed  of  my  fatherland,"  Hutten  cried 
when  he  read  the  Edict  of  Worms.  So  general  was  the  dis- 
approval of  the  edict  that  few  were  willing  to  pay  any  attention 
to  it.  Charles  V  immediately  left  Germany,  and  for  nearly  ten 
years  was  occupied  outside  it  with  the  government  of  Spain 
and  a  succession  of  wars. 


Luther  be- 
gins a  new 
translation  of 
the  Bible  in 
the  Wartburg 


Luther's 
Bible  the 
first  impor- 
tant book  in 
modem 
German 


General  dis- 
cussion of 
public  ques- 
tions in 
pamphlets 
and  satires 


Section  104.    The  Revolt  against  the  Papacy 
BEGINS  IN  Germany 

As  Luther  neared  Eisenach  upon  his  way  home  from  Worms 
he  was  kidnaped  by  his  friends  and  conducted  to  the  Wart- 
burg, a  castle  belonging  to  the  elector  of  Saxony.  Here 
he  was  concealed  until  any  danger  from  the  action  of  the 
Emperor  or  diet  should  pass  by.  His  chief  occupation  during 
several  months  of  hiding  was  to  begin  a  new  translation  of 
the  Bible  into  German.  He  had  finished  the  New  Testament 
before  he  left  the  Wartburg  in  March,  1522. 

Up  to  this  time,  German  editions  of  the  Scriptures,  while 
not  uncommon,  had  been  poor  and  obscure.  Luther's  task  was 
a  difficult  one.  He  was  anxious  above  all  that  the  Bible  should 
be  put  into  language  that  would  seem  perfectly  clear  and  natural 
to  the  common  folk.  So  he  went  about  asking  the  mothers  and 
children  and  the  laborers  questions  which  might  draw  out  the 
expression  that  he  was  looking  for.  It  sometimes  took  him 
two  or  three  weeks  to  find  the  right  word.  But  so  well  did  he 
do  his  work  that  his  Bible  may  be  regarded  as  a  great  land- 
mark in  the  history  of  the  German  language.  It  was  the  first 
book  of  any  importance  written  in  modern  German,  and  it  has 
furnished  an  imperishable  standard  for  the  language. 

Previous  to  1 5 18  there  had  been  very  few  books  or  pamphlets 
printed  in  German.  The  translation  of  the  Bible  into  language 
so  simple  that  even  the  unlearned  might  read  it  was  only 
one  of  the  signs  of  a  general  effort  to  awaken  the  minds  of  the 
common  people.    Luther's  friends  and  enemies  also  commenced 


The  Revolt  of  Germany  against  the  Papacy      597 

to  write  for  the  great  German  public  in  its  own  language. 
The  common  man  began  to  raise  his  voice,  to  the  scandal 
of  the  learned. 

Hundreds  of  pamphlets,  satires,  and  cartoons  have  come 
down  to  us  which  indicate  that  the  religious  and  other  ques- 
tions of  the  day  were  often  treated  in  somewhat  the  same 
spirit  in  which  our  comic  papers  deal  with  political  problems 
and  discussions  now.  We  find,  for  instance,  a  correspondence 
between  Leo  X  and  the  devil,  and  a  witty  dialogue  between  a 
well-known  knight,  Franz  von  Sickingen,  and  St.  Peter  at  the 
gate  of  heaven. 

Hitherto  there  had  been  a  great  deal  of  talk  of  reform,  but   Divergent 
as  yet  nothing  had  actually  been  done.    There  was  no  sharp   ^q^  ^i^g 
line   drawn   between   the   different   classes  of   reformers.     All   SJ^^'iS^    , 

should  actu 

agreed  that  something  should  be  done  to  better  the  Church ;  ally  be 
few  realized  how  divergent  were  the  real  ends  in  view.  The 
rulers  listened  to  Luther  because  they  were  glad  of  an  excuse 
to  get  control  of  the  church  property  and  keep  money  from 
flowing  to  Rome.  The  peasants  listened  because  he  put  the 
Bible  in  their  hands  and  they  found  nothing  there  that  proved 
that  they  ought  to  go  on  paying  the  old  dues  to  their  lords. 

While  Luther  was  quietly  living  in  the  Wartburg,  translating  The  revolt 
the  Bible,  people  began  to  put  his  teachings  into  practice.  The 
monks  and  nuns  left  their  monasteries  in  his  own  town  of 
Wittenberg.  Some  of  them  married,  which  seemed  a  very 
wicked  thing  to  all  those  that  held  to  the  old  beliefs.  The 
students  and  citizens  tore  down  the  images  of  the  saints  in 
the  churches  and  opposed  the  celebration  of  the  Mass,  the 
chief  Catholic  ceremony. 

Luther  did  not  approve  of  these  sudden  and  violent  changes   Luther 
and  left  his  hiding  place  to  protest.     He  preached  a  series  of  violent 
sermons  in  Wittenberg  in  which  he  urged  that  all  alterations   "deform 
in  religious  services  and  practices  should  be  introduced  by  the 
gover?iment  and  not  by  the  people.   He  said,  however,  that  those 
who  wished  might  leave  their  monasteries  and  that  those  who 


598  Outlines  of  FAtropeaii  His  tor)' 

chose  to  stay  should  give  up  begging  and  earn  their  living  like 
other  people.  He  predicted  that  if  no  one  gave  any  money  to 
the  Church,  popes,  bishops,  monks,  and  nuns  would  in  two  years 
vanish  away  like  smoke. 
Revolt  of  the  But  his  counsel  was  not  heeded.  First,  the  German  knights 
kn%^tr  organized  a  movement  to  put  the  new  ideas  in  practice.    Franz 

von  Sickingen  and  Ulrich  von  Hutten,  admirers  of  Luther,  at- 
tacked the  archbishop  of  Treves  and  proclaimed  that  they  were 
going  to  free  his  subjects  from  "  the  heavy  unchristian  yoke  ot 
the  '  parsons '  and  lead  them  to  evangelical  liberty."    But  the 
German  princes  sided  with  the  archbishop  and  battered  down 
Franz  von  Sickingen's  castle  with  cannon,  and  Franz  was  fatally 
injured  by  a  falling  beam.    Twenty  other  castles  of  the  knights 
were  destroyed  and  this  put  an  end  to  their  revolt ;  but  Luther 
and  his  teachings  were  naturally  blamed  as  the  real  reason  for 
the  uprising. 
Luther's  rash       The  conservative  party,  who  were  frankly  afraid  of  Luther, 
the  princes      received  a  new  and  terrible  proof,  as  it  seemed  to  them,  of  the 
and  nobles       noxious  influence  of  his  teachings.    In  ic;2C  the  serfs  rose,  in 

serves  to  en-  &  j    o  ' 

courage  the     the  nam.e  of  "  God's  justice,"  to  avenge  their  wTongs  and  estab- 

revolt  of  the      ,.,,..,  -r       i  •,  i      r         i         •    -i 

peasants  ush  their  rights.    Luther  was  not  responsible  tor  the  civil  war 

which  followed,  though  he  had  certainly  helped  to  stir  up  dis- 
content.  He  had  asserted,  for  example,  that  the  German  feudal 
lords  were  hangmen,  who  knew  only  how  to  swindle  the  poor 
man.     "  Such  fellows   were   formerly  called   rascals,  but   now 
must  we  call  them  '  Christian  and  revered  princes.' "    Yet  in 
spite  of  his  harsh  talk  about  the  princes,  Luther  really  relied 
upon  them  to  forward  his  movement,  and  he  justly  claimed 
that  he  had  greatly  increased   their  power  by  attacking   the 
authority  of  the  Pope  and  subjecting  the  clergy  in  all  things 
to  the  government. 
The  demands        Some  of  the  demands  of  the  peasants  were  perfectly  rea- 
ants  in  the       sonablc.    The  most  popular  expression  of  their  needs  was  the 
Artkles^'        dignified  "Twelve  Articles."^    In  these  they  claimed  that  the 

1  The  "  Twelve  Articles  "  may  be  found  in  Readings^  Vol.  II,  No.  6. 


The  Revolt  of  Germany  against  the  Papacy      599 

Bible  did  not  sanction  any  of  the  dues  which  the  lords  de- 
manded of  them,  and  that,  since  they  were  Christians  like  their 
lords,  they  should  no  longer  be  held  as  serfs.  They  were  willing 
to  pay  all  the  old  and  well-established  dues,  but  they  asked  to 
be  properly  remunerated  for  extra  services  demanded  by  the 
lord.  They  thought  too  that  each  community  should  have  the 
right  freely  to  choose  its  own  pastor  and  to  dismiss  him  if  he 
proved  negligent  or  inefficient. 

There  were,  however,  leaders  who  were  more  violent  and   Luther  urges 
who  proposed  to  kill  the  "  godless  "  priests  and  nobles.    Hun-   menf^to^sup- 
dreds  of  castles  and  monasteries  were  destroyed  by  the  frantic  P^^^^  *^^ 
peasantry,  and  some  of  the  nobility  were  murdered  with  shock- 
ing cruelty.    Luther  tried  to  induce  the  peasants,  with  whom, 
as  the  son  of  a  peasant,  he  was  at  first  inclined  to  sympathize, 
to  remain  quiet;  but  when  his  warnings  proved  vain,  he  turned 
against  them.    He  declared  that  they  were  guilty  of  the  most 
fearful  crimes,  for  which  they  deserved  death  of  both  body  and 
soul  many  times  over.    They  had  broken  their  allegiance,  they 
had  wantonly  plundered  and  robbed  castles  and  monasteries, 
and  lastly,  they  had  tried  to  cloak  their  dreadful  sins  with  ex- 
cuses from  the  Gospels.    He  therefore  urged  the  government 
to  put  down  the  insurrection  without  pity. 

Luther's  advice  was  followed  with  terrible  literalnes"s  by  the   The  peasant 
German  rulers,  and  the  nobility  took  fearful  revenge  on  the   down\?ith 
peasants.    In  the  summer  of  1525  their  chief  leader  was  de-  ^reat  cruelty 
feated  and  killed,  and  it  is  estimated  that  ten  thousand  peasants 
were  put  to  death,  many  with  the  utmost  cruelty.    Few  of  the 
rulers  or  landlords  introduced  any  reforms,  and  the  misfortunes 
due  to  the  destruction  of  property  and  to  the  despair  of  the 
peasants  cannot  be  imagined.    The  people  concluded  that  the 
new  gospel  was  not  for  them,  and  talked  of  Luther  as  "  Dr. 
Liigner,"  that  is,  liar.    The  old  exactions  of  the  lords  of  the 
manors  were  in  no  way  lightened,  and   the   situation   of  the 
serfs  for  centuries  following  the  great  revolt  was  worse  rather 
than  better. 


6oo 


Outlines  of  European  History 


;26 


Skctiox   105.    Division  of  Germany  into  Catholic 
AND  Protestant  Countries 

Charles  V  was  occupied  at  this  time  by  his  quarrels  with 
Francis  I  (see  p.  573)  and  was  in  no  position  to  return  to 
Germany  and  undertake  to  enforce  the  Edict  of  Worms  against 
Luther  and  his  followers.  Germany,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
divided  up  into  hundreds  of  practically  independent  countries, 
and  the  "various  electors,  princes,  towns,  and  knights  naturally 
could  not  agree  as  to  what  would  best  be  done  in  the  matter  of 
reforming  the  Church,  It  became  apparent  not  long  after  the 
Peasant  War  that  some  of  the  rulers  were  going  to  accept 
Luther's  idea  that  they  need  no  longer  obey  the  Pope  but  that 
they  were  free  to  proceed  to  regulate  the  property  and  affairs 
of  the  churchmen  in  their  respective  domains  without  regard  to 
the  Pope's  wishes.  Other  princes  and  towns  agreed  that  they 
would  remain  faithful  to  the  Pope  if  certain  reforms  were  intro- 
duced, especially  if  the  papal  taxation  were  reduced.  Southern 
Germany  decided  for  the  Pope  and  remains  Catholic  down  to 
the  present  day.  Many  of  the  northern  rulers,  on  the  other 
hand,  adopted  the  new  teachings,  and  finally  all  of  them  fell 
away  from  the  papacy  and  became  Protestant. 

Since  there  was  no  one  powerful  enough  to  decide  the  great 
question  for  the  whole  of  Germany,  the  diet  which  met  at 
Speyer  in  1526  determined  that  pending  the  summoning  of  a 
church  council  each  ruler  should  "  so  live,  reign,  and  conduct 
himself  as  he  would  be  willing  to  answer  before  God  and  His 
Imperial  Majesty."  For  the  moment,  then,  the  various  German 
governments  were  left  to  determine  the  religion  of  their  subjects. 

Yet  everybody  still  hoped  that  one  religion  might  ultimately 
be  agreed  upon.  Luther  trusted  that  all  Christians  would  some- 
time accept  the  new  gospel.  He  was  willing  that  the  bishops 
should  be  retained,  and  even  that  the  Pope  should  still  be 
regarded  as  a  sort  of  presiding  officer  in  the  Church.  As 
for  his  enemies,  they  were  equally  confident  that  the  heretics 


The  Revolt  of  Germany  agaifist  the  Papacy      6oi 

would  in  time  be  suppressed,  as  they  had  always  been  in  the 
past,  and  that  harmony  would  thus  be  restored.  Neither  party 
was  right ;  for  the  decision  of  the  diet  of  Speyer  was  destined 
to  become  a  permanent  arrangement,  and  Germany  remained 
divided  between  different  religious  faiths. 

New  sects  opposed  to  the  old  Church  had  also  begun  to   Charles  V 
appear.    Zwingli,  a  Swiss  reformer,  was  gaining  many  followers,   venes  in  the 
and  the  Anabaptists  were  rousing  Luther's  apprehensions  by   rehgious  con- 
their  radical  plans  for  doing  away  with  the  Catholic  religion  alto-   Germa-ny 
gether.    The  Emperor,  finding  himself  again  free  for  a  time  to 
attend  to  German  affairs,  commanded  the  diet,  which  again  met 
at  Speyer  in  1529,  to  order  the  enforcement  of  the  Edict  of 
Worms  against  the  heretics.    No  one  was  to  preach  against 
the  Mass,  and  no  one  was  to  be  prevented  from  attending 
it  freely. 

This  meant  that  the  "  Evangelical  "  princes  would  be  forced  (Origin  of 
to  restore  the  most  characteristic  of  the  Catholic  ceremonies.  "  pro^testam " 
As  they  formed  only  a  minority  in  the  diet,  all  that  they  could 
do  was  to  draw  up  a  protest^  signed  by  John  Frederick,  elector 
of  Saxony,  Philip  of  Hesse,  and  fourteen  of  the  imperial  towns 
(Strassburg,  Nuremberg,  Ulm,  etc.).  In  this  they  claimed  that 
the  majority  had  no  right  to  abrogate  the  edict  of  the  former 
diet  of  Speyer,  which  had  been  passed  unanimously,  and  which 
all  had  solemnly  pledged  themselves  to  observe.  They  there- 
fore appealed  to  the  Emperor  and  a  future  council  against 
the  tyranny  of  the  majority.  Those  who  signed  this  appeal 
were  called  from  their  action  Protestants.  Thus  originated  the 
name  which  came  to  be  generally  applied  to  those  who  do  not 
accept  the  rule  and  teachings  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

Ever  since  the  diet  at  Worms  the  Emperor  had  resided  in   Preparations 
Spain,  busied  with  a  succession  of  wars  carried  on  with  the   o^'^Augsburg 
king  of  France.    It  will  be  remembered  that  both  Charles  and 
Francis  claimed  Milan  and  the  duchy  of  Burgundy,  and  they 
sometimes  drew  the  Pope  into  their  conflicts.    But  in  1530  the 
Emperor  found  himself  at  peace  for  the  moment  and  came  to 


602 


Outlines  of  Eiuvpean  History 


The  Augs- 
burg Con- 
fession 


Charles  V's 
attempt  at 
pacification 


Germany  to  hold  a  brilliant  diet  of  his  German  subjects  at 
Augsburg  in  the  hope  of  settling  the  religious  problem,  which, 
however,  he  understood  very  imperfectly.  He  ordered  the  Prot- 
estants to  draw  up  a  statement  of  exactly  what  they  believed, 
which  should  serve  as  a  basis  for  discussion.  Melanchthon, 
Luther's  most  famous  friend  and  colleague,  who  was  noted 
for  his  great  learning  and  moderation,  was  intrusted  with  this 
delicate  task. 

The  Augsburg  Co7ifession,  as  his  declaration  was  called,  is 
a  historical  document  of  great  importance  for  the  student  of 
the  Protestant  revolt.^  Melanchthon's  gentle  disposition  led  him 
to  make  the  differences  between  his  belief  and  that  of  the  old 
Church  seem  as  few  and  slight  as  possible.  He  showed  that 
both  parties  held  the  same  fundamental  A^iews  of  Christianity. 
But  he  defended  the  Protestants'  rejection  of  a  number  of  the 
practices  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  such  as  the  celibacy  of  the 
clergy  and  the  observance  of  fast  days.  There  was  little  or 
nothing  in  the  Augsburg  Confession  concerning  the  organization 
of  the  Church. 

Certain  theologians  who  had  been  loud  in  their  denunciations 
of  Luther  were  ordered  by  the  Emperor  to  prepare  a  refutation 
of  the  Protestant  views.  The  statement  of  the  Catholics  ad- 
mitted that  a  number  of  Melanchthon's  positions  were  perfectly 
orthodox ;  but  the  portion  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  which 
dealt  with  the  practical  reforms  introduced  by  the  Protestants 
was  rejected  altogether. 

Charles  V  declared  the  Catholic  statement  to  be  "  Christian 
and  judicious  "  and  commanded  the  Protestants  to  accept  it. 
They  were  to  cease  troubling  the  Catholics  and  were  to  give 
back  all  the  monasteries  and  church  property  which  they  had 
seized.  The  Emperor  agreed,  however,  to  urge  the  Pope  to  call 
a  council  to  meet  within  a  year.    This,  he  hoped,  would  be  able 


1  It  is  still  accepted  as  the  creed  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Copies  of  it  in 
English  may  be  procured  from  the  Lutheran  Publication  Society,  Philadelphia, 
for  ten  cents  each. 


Protestant- 
ism up  to  the 


The  Revolt  of  Germany  against  the  Papacy      603 

to  settle  all  differences  and  reform  the  Church  according  to  the 
views  of  the  Catholics. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  in  detail  the  progress  of  Protestant-   Progress  of 
ism  in  Germany  during  the  quarter  of  a  centur\-  succeeding  the 
diet  of  Augsburg.    Enough  has  been  said  to  show  the  character   Peace  of 

^  "  °  Augsburg, 

of  the  revolt  and  the  divergent  views  taken  by  the  German  1555 
princes  and  people.  For  ten  years  after  the  Emperor  left  Augs- 
burg he  was  kept  busy  in  southern  Europe  by  new  wars ;  and 
in  order  to  secure  the  assistance  of  the  Protestants,  he  was 
forced  to  let  them  go  their  own  way.  Meanwhile  the  number 
of  rulers  who  accepted  Luther's  teachings  gradually  increased. 
Finally  there  was  a  brief  war  between  Charles  and  the  Protestant 
princes,  but  there  was  little  fighting  done.  Charles  V  brought  his 
Spanish  soldiers  into  Germany  and  captured  both  John  Frederick 
of  Saxony  and  his  ally,  Philip  of  Hesse,  the  chief  leaders  of  the 
Lutheran  cause,  whom  he  kept  prisoners  for  several  years. 

This  episode  did  not,  however,  check  the  progress  of  Prot- 
estantism. The  king  of  France  promised  them  help  against  his 
enemy,  the  Emperor,  and  Charles  was  forced  to  agree  to  a  peace 
with  the  Protestants. 

In  1555  the  religious  Peace  of  Augsburg  was  ratified.  Its  The  Peace  of 
provisions  are  memorable.  Each  German  prince  and  each  town 
and  knight  immediately  under  the  Emperor  was  to  be  at  liberty 
to  make  a  choice  between  the  beliefs  of  the  venerable  Catholic 
Church  and  those  embodied  in  the  Augsburg  Confession.  If, 
however,  an  ecclesiastical  prince  —  an  archbishop,  bishop,  or 
abbot  —  declared  himself  a  Protestant,  he  must  surrender  his- 
possessions  to  the  Church.  Every  German  was  either  to  con- 
form to  the  religious  practices  of  his  particular  state  or  emi- 
grate from  it.  Every  one  was  supposed  to  be  either  a  Catholic 
or  a  Lutheran,  and  no  provision  was  made  for  any  other  belief. 

This  religious  peace  in  no  way  established  freedom  of  con- 
science, except  for  the  rulers.  Their  power,  it  must  be  noted, 
was  greatly  increased,  inasmuch  as  they  were  given  the  control 
of  religious  as  well  as  of  secular  matters.     This  arrangement 


Augsburg 


6o4  Outlines  of  European  History 

The  principle  which   permitted    the    ruler   to   determine   the   religion   of   his 

government  realm  was  more  natural   in   those   days  than  it  would  be  in 

mine^*the^^^^  ours.    The  Church  and  the  civil  government  had  been  closely 

religion  of  its  associated  with   one   another   for   centuries.     No   one   as  yet 

subjects  . 

dreamed  that  every  individual  might  safely  be  left  quite  free 
to  believe  what  he  would  and  to  practice  any  religious  rites 
which  afforded  him  help  and  comfort. 


QUESTIONS 

Section  ioi.  What  were  the  sources  of  discontent  with  the 
Church  in  Germany  ?  What  were  the  views  of  Erasmus  in  regard  to 
church  reform? 

Section  102.  Tell  something  of  Luther's  life  before  he  posted 
up  his  theses.  What  was  an'  indulgence?  Give  some  of  Luther's 
views  expressed  in  his  Ninety-five  Theses.  Contrast  the  opinions  of 
Erasmus  and  Luther.  Who  was  Ulrich  von  Hutten  ?  Discuss  Luther's 
Address  to  the  German  jVobitity.  Why  was  Luther  excommuni- 
cated ?    What  was  the  fate  of  the  papal  bull  directed  against  him  ? 

Section  103.  Why  did  Charles  V  summon  Luther  at  Worms? 
What  did  Luther  say  to  the  diet  ?  What  were  the  chief  provisions  of 
the  Edict  of  Worms  ? 

Section  104.  Describe  Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible.  What 
was  the  state  of  public  opinion  in  Germany  after  the  diet  at  Worms  ? 
What  was  Luther's  attitude  toward  reform  ?  Why  did  the  German 
peasants  revolt?  What  did  the  Twelve  Articles  contain?  What 
effect  did  the  peasant  war  have  on  Luther  ? 

Section  105.  What  was  the  origin  of  the  term  "Protestant"? 
What  was  the  Augsburg  Confession  ?  What  were  the  results  of  the 
diet  of  Augsburg?  What  was  the  policy  of  Charles  V  in  regard  to 
the  Protestants?  What  were  the  chief  provisions  of  the  Peace  of 
Augsburg  ? 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  PROTESTANT  REVOLT  IN  SWITZERLAND  AND 
ENGLAND 

Section  io6.    Zwingli  and  Calvin 

For  at  least  a  century  after  Luther's  death  the  great  issue 
between  Catholics  and  Protestants  dominates  the  history  of 
all  the  countries  with  which  we  have  to  do,  except  Italy  and 
Spain,  where  Protestantism  never  took  permanent  root.  In 
Switzerland,  England,  France,  and  Holland  the  revolt  against 
the  Medieval  Church  produced  discord,  wars,  and  profound 
changes,  which  must  be  understood  in  order  to  follow  the  later 
development  of  these  countries. 

We  turn  first  to  Switzerland,  lying  in  the  midst  of  the  great  Origin  of  the 
chain  of  the  Alps  which  extends  from  the  Mediterranean  to  federation 
Vienna.  During  the  Middle  Ages  the  region  destined  to  be 
included  in  the  Swiss  Confederation  formed  a  part  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire  and  was  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the  rest 
of  southern  Germany.  As  early  as  the  thirteenth  century  the 
three  "  forest "  cantons  on  the  shores  of  the  winding  lake 
of  Lucerne  formed  a  union  to  protect  their  liberties  against 
the  encroachments  of  their  neighbors,  the  Hapsburgs.  It  was 
about  this  tiny  nucleus  that  Switzerland  gradually  consolidated. 
Lucerne  and  the  free  towns  of  Zurich  and  Berne  soon  joined 
the  Swiss  league.  By  brave  fighting  the  Swiss  were  able  to  frus- 
trate the  renewed  efforts  of  the  Hapsburgs  to  subjugate  them. 

Various  districts  in  the  neighborhood  joined  the  Swiss  union 
in  succession,  and  even  the  region  lying  on  the  Italian  slopes  of 
the  Alps  was  brought  under  its  control.  Gradually  the  bonds 
between  the  members  of  the  union  and  the  Empire  were  broken. 

605 


6o6 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Switzerland  In   1 499  they  were  finally  freed  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the 

separafe  ^  Emperor   and    Switzerland   became   a  practically   independent 

countr>';  country.     Although  the  original  union  had  been  made  up  of 

nationality  German-speaking  people,  considerable  districts  had  been  an- 

of  its  people  1  •  1     x     i-  t^  1     r^^i        r>.     •         -,•  ■, 

nexed  m  which  Italian  or  i^rench  was  spoken/    Ihe  Swiss  did 


The  Swiss  Confederation 


not,  therefore,  form  a  compact,  well-defined  nation,  and  conse- 
quently for  some  centuries  their  confederation  was  weak  and 
ill-organized. 

In  Switzerland  the  first  leader  of  the  revolt  against  the  Church 
was  a  young  priest  named  Zwingli,  who  was  a  year  younger 

'  This  condition    has  not  changed ;    all  Swiss  laws  are  still  proclaimed  in 
three   languages. 


Protestant  Revolt  in  Switzerland  and  England     607 

than  Luther.    He  lived  in  the  famous  monastery  of  Einsiedeln,  Zwingli 

near  the  Lake  of  Zurich,  which  was  the  center  of  pilgrimages  on  iJads^he^^^ 

account  of  a  wonder-working  image.   '*  Here,"  he  says,  "  I  be-  ^^^°^^  ^" 

gan  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  the  year  15 16,  before  any  against  the 
one  in  my  locality  had  so  much  as  heard  the  name  of  Luther." 

Three  years  later  he  was  called  to  an  influential  position  as  Zwingli 

preacher  in  the  cathedral  of  Zurich,  and  there  his  great  work  tif^abuses 

really  commenced.     He  then  began  to  denounce  the  abuses  in  !?,*^^, 

•'  '^  Church  and 

the  Church  as  well  as  the  shameless  traffic  in  soldiers,  which   the  traffic  in 
he  had  long  regarded  as  a  blot  upon  his  country's  honor.^ 

But  the  original  cantons  about  the  Lake  of  Lucerne,  which 
feared  that  they  might  lose  the  gr^at  influence  that,  in  spite 
of  their  small  size,  they  had  hitherto  enjoyed,  were  ready  to 
fight  for  the  old  faith.  The  first  armed  collision  between  the 
Swiss  Protestants  and  Catholics  took  place  at  Kappel  in  153 1, 
and  Zwingli  fell  in  the  battle.  The  various  cantons  and  towns 
never  came  to  an  agreement  in  religious  matters,  and  Switzer- 
land is  still  part  Catholic  and  part  Protestant. 

Far  more  important  than  Zwingli's  teachings,  especially  for   Calvin 
England   and   America,   was  the  work   of   Calvin,   which  was  and°?he^ 
carried  on  in  the  ancient  city  of  Geneva,  on  the  very  outskirts   ph^^rdb^"^" 
of  the  Swiss  confederation.    It  was  Calvin  who  organized  the 
Presbyterian  Chii,rch  and  formulated  its  beliefs.    He  was  born 
in  northern   France  in   1509;    he  belonged,  therefore,  to  the 
second  generation  of  Protestants.    He  was  early  influenced  by 
the  Lutheran  teachings,  which  had  already  found  their  way  into 
France.    A  persecution  "of  the  Protestants  under  Francis  I  drove 
him  out  of  the  country  and  he  settled  for  a  time  in  Basel. 

Here  he  issued  the  first  edition  of  his  great  work,  The  Insti-  Calvin's 
tutes  of  Christianity,  which  has  been  more  widely  discussed  than    Christianity 
any  other  Protestant  theological  treatise.    It  was  the  first  orderly 

1  Switzerland  had  made  a  business,  ever  since  the  time  when  Charles  VIII 
of  France  invaded  Italy,  of  supplying  troops  of  mercenaries  to  fight  for  other 
countries,  especially  for  France  and  the  Pope.  It  was  the  Swiss  who  gained  the 
battle  of  Marignano  for  Francis  I,  and  Swiss  guards  may  still  be  seen  in  the 
Pope's  palace. 


6o8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Calvin's 
reformation 
in  Geneva 


exposition  of  the  principles  of  Christianity  from  a  Protestant 
standpoint,  and  formed  a  convenient  manual  for  study  and  dis- 
cussion. The  Institutes  are  based  upon  the  infallibility  of  the 
Bible  and  reject  the  infallibility  of  the  Church  and  the  Pope. 
Calvin  possessed  a  remarkably  logical  mind  and  a  clear  and 
admirable  style.  The  PYench  version  of  his  great  work  is  the 
first  example  of  the  successful  use  of  that  language  in  an 
argumentative  treatise. 

Calvin  was  called  to  Geneva  about  1540  and  intrusted  with 
the  task  of  reforming  the  town,  which  had  secured  its  inde- 
pendence of  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  He  drew  up  a  constitution 
and  established  an  extraordinary  government  in  which  the 
Church  and  the  civil  government  were  as  closely  associated  as 
they  had  ever  been  in  any  Catholic  country.  Calvin  intrusted 
the  management  of  church  affairs  to  the  ministers  and  the 
elders,  ox  presbyters ;  hence  the  name  "  Presbyterian."  The  Prot- 
estantism which  found  its  way  into  France  was  that  of  Calvin, 
not  that  of  Luther,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  Scotland  (see 
below,  pp.  640-641). 


Erasmus  in 
England 


Mere's 

Utopia 


Section  107.    How  England  fell  away  from 
THE  Papacy 

When  Erasmus  came  to  England  about  the  year  1500  he 
was  delighted  with  the  people  he  met  there.  Henry  VII  was 
still  alive.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  he  that  brought 
order  into  England  after  the  Wars  of  the  Roses.  His  son,  who 
was  to  become  the  famous  Henry  VIII,  impressed  Erasmus  as 
a  very  promising  boy.  We  may  assume  that  the  intelligent  men 
whom  Erasmus  met  in  England  agreed  with  him  in  regard  to 
the  situation  in  the  Church  and  the  necessity  of  reform.  He 
was  a  good  friend  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  who  is  best  known 
for  his  litde  book  called  Utopia,  which  means  "  Nowhere." 
In  it  More  pictures  the  happy  conditions  in  an  undiscovered 
land  where  the  government  was  perfect  and  all  the  evils  that 


Protestant  Revolt  in  Szvitr^ertand  aiiei  England     609 

he  saw  about  him  were  done  away.    It  was  at  More's  house 
that  Erasmus  wrote  his  Praise  of  Folly  and  dedicated  it  to  him. 

Henry  VIII  came  to  the  English  throne  when  he  was  eighteen  Wolsey's 

years  old.    His  chief  adviser,  Cardinal  Wolsey,  deserves  great  peace  alJd 

credit  for  having  constantly  striven  to  discourage  his  sovereign's  his  idea  of 

ambition  to  take  part  in  the  wars  on  the  Continent.   The  cardinal's  of  power 


Fig.  213.    Henry  \TI1 


argument  that  England  could  become  great  by  peace  better  than 
by  war  was  a  momentous  discovery.  Peace  he  felt  would  be 
best  secured  by  maintaining  the  balance  of  power  on  the  Con- 
tinent, so  that  no  ruler  should  become  dangerous  by  unduly 
extending  his  sway.  For  example,  he  thought  it  good  policy 
to  side  with  Charles  V  when  Francis  I  was  successful,  and  then 
with  Francis  after  his  terrible  defeat  at  Pa  via  (1525)  when  he 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Charles.  This  idea  of  the  balance  of 
power  came  to  be  recognized  later  by  the  European  countries 
as  a  very  important  consideration  in  determining  their  policy. 


6io  Ojttlines  of  European  History 

But  Wolsey  was  not  long  to  be  permitted  to  put  his  enlightened 
ideas  in  practice.  His  fall  and  the  progress  of  Protestantism  in 
England  are  both  closely  associated  with  the  notorious  divorce 
case  of  Henry  VHI. 
Henry vilPs  It  will  be  remembered  that  Henry  had  married  Catherine 
of  Aragon,  the  aunt  of  Charles  V.  Only  one  of  their  children, 
Mary,  survived  to  grow  up.  As  time  went  on  Henry  was  very 
anxious  to  have  a  son  and  heir,  for  he  was  fearful  lest  a  woman 
might  not  be  permitted  to  succeed  to  the  throne.  Moreover, 
,  he  had  tired  of  Catherine,  who  was  considerably  older  than  he. 

Catherine  had  first  married  Henry's  older  brother,  who  had 
died  almost  immediately  after  the  marriage.  Since  it  was 
a  violation  of  the  rule  of  the  Church  to  marry  a  deceased 
brother's  wife,  Henry  professed  to  fear  that  he  was  commit- 
ting a  sin  by  retaining  Catherine  as  his  wife  and  demanded 
to  be  divorced  from  her  on  tbe  ground  that  his  marriage  had 
never  been  legal.  His  anxiety  to  rid  himself  of  Catherine  was 
greatly  increased  by  the  appearance  at  court  of  a  black-eyed 
girl  of  sixteen,  named  Anne  Boleyn,  with  whom  the  king  fell 
in  love. 
Clement  VII  Unfortunately  for  his  case,  his  marriage  with  Catherine  had 
divorce  been   authorized    by  a   dispensation   from   the   Pope,   so   that 

Henry  Clement  VII,  to  whom  the  king  appealed  to  annul  the  mar- 

riage, could  not,  even  if  he  had  been  willing  to  run  the  risk 
of  angering  the   queen's    nephew,   Charles  V,   have   granted 
Henry's  request. 
Fall  of  Wolsey 's  failure  to  induce  the  Pope  to  permit  the  divorce 

excited  the  king's  anger,  and  with  rank  ingratitude  for  his 
minister's  great  services,  Henry  drove  him  from  office  (1529) 
and  seized  his  property.  Trom  a  life  of  wealth  which  was 
fairly  regal,  Wolsey  was  precipitated  into  extreme  poverty. 
An  imprudent  but  innocent  act  of  his  soon  gave  his  enemies 
a  pretext  for  charging  him  with  treason  ;  but  the  unhappy 
man  died  on  his  way  to  London  and  thus  escaped  being 
beheaded  as  a  traitor. 


Protestant  Revolt  in  Switzerland  and  Engla?id     6 1 1 

Cardinal    Wolsey    had    been    the    Pope's    representative    in   Henry  viii 
England.    Henry  VIII's  next  move  was  to  declare  the  whole   revdlt^gainst 
clergy  of  England  guilty  in  obeying  Wolsey,  since  an  old  law   ^^^  papacy 
forbade  any  papal  agent  to  appear  in  England  without  the  king's 
consent.^    The  king  refused  to  forgive  them   until   they  had 
solemnly    acknowledged    him    supreme    head    of    the    English 
Church.^     He   then    induced    Parliament   to   cut   off  some   of 
the  Pope's  revenue  from  England ;  but,  as  this  did  not  bring 
Clement  VH  to  terms,  Henry  lost  patience  and  secretly  married 
Anne  Boleyn,  relying  on  getting  a  divorce  from  Catherine  later. 

His  method  was  a  simple  one.  He  summoned  an  English 
church  court  which  declared  his  marriage  with  Catherine  null 
and  void.  He  had  persuaded  Parliament  to  make  a  law  pro- 
viding that  all  lawsuits  should  be  definitely  decided  within  the 
realm  and  in  this  way  cut  off  the  possibility  of  the  queen's 
appealing  to  the  Pope. 

Parliament,  which  did  whatever  Henry  VIH  asked,  also  de- 
clared Henry's  marriage  with  Catherine  unlawful  and  that  with 
Anne  Boleyn  legal.  Consequently  it  was  decreed  that  Anne's 
daughter  Elizabeth,  born  in  1533,  was  to  succeed  her  father  on 
the  English  throne  instead  of  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Catherine. 

In  1534  the  English  Parliament  completed  the  revolt  of  the   The  Act  of 
English  Church  from  the  Pope  by  assigning  to  the  king  the   and'the^^^ 
right    to    appoint    all    the    English    prelates   and   to   enjoy   all   f^^  p^^^g 
the  income  which  had  formerly  found  its  way  to  Rome.    In  authority 
the  Act  of  Supremacy,   Parliament  declared   the   king  to   be 
"  the  only  supreme  head  in  earth  of  the  Church  of  England," 
and  that  he  should  enjoy  all  the  powers  which  the  title  naturally 
carried  with  it. 

Two  years  later  every  officer  in  the  kingdom  was  required 
to   swear  to  renounce  the  authority  of  the  bishop  of  Rome. 

1  Henry  had,  however,  agreed  that  Wolsey  should  accept  the  office  of  papal 
legate. 

2  The  clergy  only  recognized  the  king  as  "  Head  of  the  Church  and  Clergy 
so  far  as  the  law  of  Christ  will  allow."  They  did  not  abjure  the  headship  of  the 
Pope  over  the  whole  Church. 


6l2 


Outlines  of  European  Histojy 


Henry  VIII 
no  Protestant 


Henry's 
anxiety  to 
prove  him- 
self a  good 
Catholic 


The  English 
Bible 


Henry's 
tyranny 

Execution  of 
Sir  Thomas 
More 


Refusal  to  take  this  oath  was  to  be  adjudged  high  treason. 
Many  were  unwilling  to  deny  the  Pope's  headship  merely  be- 
cause king  and  Parliament  renounced  it,  and  this  legislation 
led  to  a  persecution  in  the  name  of  treason  which  was  even 
more  horrible  than  that  which  had  been  carried  on  in  the  sup- 
posed interest  of  religion. 

It  must  be  carefully  observed  that  Henry  VIII  was  not  a 
Protestant  in  the  Lutheran  sense  of  the  word.  He  was  led, 
it  is  true,  by  Clement  VH's  refusal  to  declare  his  first  mar- 
riage illegal,  to  break  the  bond  between  the  English  and  the 
Roman  Church,  and  to  induce  the  English  clergy  and  Parlia- 
ment to  acknowledge  the  king  as  supreme  head  in  the  religious 
as  well  as  in  the  worldly  interests  of  the  country'.  Important 
as  this  was,  it  did  not  lead  Henry  to  accept  the  teachings  of 
Protestant  leaders,  like  Luther,  Zwingli,  or  Calvin. 

Henry  was  anxious  to  prove  that  he  was  orthodox,  espe- 
cially after  he  had  seized  the  property  of  the  monasteries  and 
the  gold  and  jewels  which  adorned  the  receptacles  in  which 
the  relics  of  the  saints  were  kept.  He  presided  in  person 
over  the  trial  of  one  who  accepted  the  opinions  of  Zwingli,  and 
he  quoted  Scripture  to  prove  the  contrary.  The  prisoner  was 
condemned  and  burned  as  a  heretic.  Henry  also  authorized  a 
new  translation  of  the  Bible  into  English.  A  fine  edition  of  this 
was  printed  (1539),  and  every  parish  was  ordered  to  obtain  a 
copy  and  place  it  in  the  parish  church,  where  all  the  people 
could  readily  make  use  of  it. 

Henry  VIII  was  heartless  and  despotic.  With  a  barbarity 
not  uncommon  in  those  days,  he  allowed  his  old  friend  and 
adviser.  Sir  Thomas  More,  to  be  beheaded  for  refusing  to  pro- 
nounce the  marriage  with  Catherine  void.  He  caused  numbers 
of  monks  to  be  executed  for  refusing  to  swear  that  his  first 
marriage  was  illegal  and  for  denying  his  title  to  supremacy  in 
the  Church.  Others  he  permitted  to  die  of  starvation  and 
disease  in  the  filthy  prisons  of  the  time.  Many  Englishmen 
would  doubtless  have  agreed  with  one  of  the  friars  who  said 


Protestant  Revolt  in  Szuitcerland  and  England     613 

humbly  "  I  profess  that  it  is  not  out  of  obstinate  malice  or  a 
mind  of  rebellion  that  I  do  disobey  the  king,  but  only  for  the 
fear  of  God,  that  I  offend  not  the  Supreme  Majesty ;  because 
our  Holy  Mother,  the  Church,  hath  decreed  and  appointed 
otherwise  than  the  king  and   Parliament  hath  ordained." 

Henry  wanted   money ;    some  of  the  English  abbeys  were   Dissolution 
rich,  and  the  monks  were  quite  unable  to  defend  themselves   ushmonas- 
against  the  charges  which  were  brought  against  them.     The  *^"^^ 
king  sent  commissioners  about  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the 
monasteries.    A  large  number  of  scandalous  tales  were  easily 
collected,  some  of  which  were  undoubtedly  true.   The  monks 
were  doubtless  often  indolent  and  sometimes  wicked.    Never- 
theless they  were  kind  landlords,  hospitable  to  the  stranger, 
and  good  to  the  poor.    The  plundering  of  the  smaller  monas- 
teries, with  which  the  king  began,  led  to  a  revolt,  due  to  a 
rumor  that  the  king  would  next  proceed  to  despoil  the  parish 
churches  as  well.. 

This  gave  Henry  an  excuse  for  attacking  the  larger  monas- 
teries. The  abbots  and  priors  who  had  taken  part  in  the  revolt 
were  hanged  and  their  monasteries  confiscated.  Other  abbots, 
panic-stricken,  confessed  that  they  and  their  monks  had  been 
committing  the  most  loathsome  sins  and  asked  to  be  permitted 
to  give  up  their  monasteries  to  the  king.  The  royal  commis- 
sioners then  took  possession,  sold  every  article  upon  which  they 
could  lay  hands,  including  the  bells  and  even  the  lead  on  the 
roofs.  The  picturesque  remains  of  some  of  the  great  abbey 
churches  are  still  among  the  chief  objects  of  interest  to  the 
sight-seer  in  England.  The  monastery  lands  were,  of  course, 
appropriated  by  the  king.  They  were  sold  for  the  benefit  of 
the  government  or  given  to  nobles  whose  favor  the  king 
wished  to  secure. 

Along  with  the  destruction  of  the  monasteries  went  an 
attack  upon  the  shrines  and  images  in  the  churches,  which 
were  adorned  with  gold  and  jewels.  The  shrine  of  St.  Thomas 
of  Canterbury  was  destroyed,  and  the  bones  of  the  saint  were 


6i4 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Destruction 
of  shrines 
and  images 
for  the 
benefit  of 
the  king's 
treasury 


Henry's  third 
marriage  and 
the  birth  of 
Edward  VI 


burned.  An  old  wooden  figure  which  was  revered  in  Wales 
was  used  to  make  a  fire  to  burn  an  unfortunate  friar  who  main- 
tained that  in  religious  matters  the  Pope  rather  than  the  king 
should  be  obeyed.  These  acts  resembled  the  Protestant  attacks 
on  images  which  occurred  in  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  the 
Netherlands.  The  main  object  of  the  king  and  his  party  was 
probably  to  get  money,  although  the  reason  urged  for  the  de- 
struction was  the  superstitious  veneration  in  which  the  relics 
and  images  were  popularly  held. 

Henry's  family  troubles  by  no  means  came  to  an  end 
with  his  marriage  to  Anne  Boleyn.  Of  her,  too,  he  soon 
tired,  and  three  years  after  their  marriage  he  had  her  executed 
on  a  series  of  monstrous  charges.  The  very  next  day  he  married 
his  third  w4fe,  Jane  Seymour,  who  was  the  mother  of  his  son 
and  successor,  Edward  VI.  Jane  died  a  few  days  after  her 
son's  birth,  and  later  Henry  married  in  succession  three 
other  women  who  are  historically  unimportanJ:  since  they  left 
no  children  as  claimants  for  the  crown.  Henry  took  care  that 
his  three  children,  all  of  whom  were  destined  to  reign,  should 
be  given  their  due  place  in  the  line  of  inheritance  by  act  of 
Parliament.-^  His  death  in  1547  left  the  great  problem  of 
Protestantism  and  Catholicism  to  be  settled  by  his  son  and 
daughters. 


Section  108.    England  becomes  Protestant 


Edward  VI's 

ministers 

introduce 

Protestant 

practices 


While  the  revolt  of  England  against  the  papacy  was  carried 
through  by  the  government  at  a  time  when  the  greater  part  of 
the  nation  was  still  Catholic,  there  was  undoubtedly,  under 
Henry  VIH,  an  ever-increasing  number  of  aggressive  and 
ardent  Protestants  who  applauded  the  change.    During  the  six 


1  Henry  VIII,  m.  (i)  Catherine   m.  (2)  Anne  Boleyn,       m.  (3)  Jane  Seymour 

I  I  I 

Mary  (1553-1558)  Elizabeth  (1558-1603)  Edward  VI  (1547-1553) 

It  was  arranged  that  the  son  was  to  succeed  to  the  throne.    In  case  he  died 

without  heirs,  Mary  and  then  Elizabeth  were  to  follow. 


Protesta7it  Revolt  in  Switzerland  and  E^igland     6 1 5 

years  of  the  boy  Edward's  reign  —  he  died  in  1553  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  —  those  in  charge  of  the  government  favored 
the  Protestant  party  and  did  what  they  could  to  change  the 
faith  of  all  the  people  by  bringing  Protestant  teachers  from 
the  Continent. 

A  general  demolition  of  all  the  sacred  images  was  ordered ; 
even  the  beautiful  stained  glass,  the  glory  of  the  cathedrals, 


X      \ 

Fig.  214.    Edward  VI,  bv  Holbein 

This  interesting  sketch  was  made  before  Edward  became  king,  and  he 
could  have  been  scarcely  six  years  old,  as  Holbein  died  in  1543 


was  destroyed,  because  it  often  represented  saints  and  angels. 
The  king  was  to  appoint  bishops  without  troubling  to  observe 
the  old  forms  of  election,  and  Protestants  began  to  be  put  into 
the  high  offices  of  the  Church.  Parliament  turned  over  to  the 
king  the  funds  which  had  been  established  for  the  purpose  of 
having  masses  chanted  for  the  dead,  and  decreed  that  thereafter 
the  clergy  should  be  free  to  marry. 

A  prayer  book  in  English  was  prepared  under  the  auspices 
of   Parliament,  not  very  unlike   that  used   in  the   Church   of 


6i6 


Outlines  of  Eu7vpcan  History 


The  prayer      England  to-day  (see  below,  p.  639).  Moreover,  forty-two  articles 

"Thirty-Nine   of  faith  were  drawn  up  by  the  government,  which  were  to  be 

Articles"         ^^  Standard  of  belief  for  the  country.    These,  in  the  time  of 

Queen   Elizabeth,   were  revised   and   reduced    to    the   famous 


Fig.  215.    Queen  Mary,  by  Axtonio  Moro 

This  life-like  portrait,  in  the  Madrid  collection,  is  by  a  favorite  painter 
of  Philip  II,  Mary's  husband  (see  Fig.  218).  It  was  painted  about  1554, 
and  one  gets  the  same  impressions  of  Mary's  character  from  the  por- 
trait that  one  does  from  reading  about  her.  Moro  had  Holbein's  skill 
in  painting  faces 


"  Thirty-Nine  Articles,"  which  still  constitute  the  creed  of  the 
Church  of  England. 

The  changes  in  the  church  services  must  have  sadly  shocked 
a  great  part  of  the  English  people,  who  had  been  accustomed 
to  watch  with  awe  and  expectancy  the  various  acts  associated 


Protestant  Revolt  in  Sivitzerland  and  England     6 1 7 

with  the  many  church  ceremonies  and  festivals.    Earnest  men   Protestant- 
who  deplored  the  misrule  of  those  who  conducted   Edward's   Sred^ted^ 
government  in  the  name  of  Protestantism  must  have  concluded  ^jj^ster?^^ 
that  the  reformers   were   chiefly  intent  upon  advancing  their 
own  interests  by  plundering  the  Church.    We  get  some  idea 
of  the  desecrations  of  the  time  from  the  fact  that  Edward  was 
forced  to  forbid  "  quarreling  and  shooting  in  churches  "  and 
"the  bringing  of  horses  and  mules  through  the  same,  making 
God's  house  like  a  stable  or  common  inn."  Although  many  were 
heartily  in  favor  of  the  recent  changes,  it  is  no  wonder  that  after 
Edward's  death  there  was  a  revulsion  in  favor  of  the  old  religion. 

Edward  VI  was  succeeded  in  1553  by  his  half  sister  Mary,   Queen  Mary 
the  daughter  of  Catherine,  who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  aid^die^^ 
Catholic  faith  and  held  firmly  to  it.    Her  ardent  hope  of  bring-  ^^^^^^^^ 
ing  her  kingdom  back  once  more  to  her  religion  did  not  seem 
altogether  ill-founded,  for  the  majority  of  the  people  were  still 
Catholics  at  heart,  and  many  who  were  not,  disapproved  of  the 
policy  of  Edward's  ministers,  who  had  removed  abuses  ''  in  the 
devil's  own  way,  by  breaking  in  pieces." 

The  Catholic  cause  appeared,  moreover,  to  be  strengthened 
by  Mary's  marriage  with  the  Spanish  prince,  Philip  II,  the  son 
of  the  orthodox  Charles  V.  But  although  Philip  later  distin- 
guished himself,  as  we  shall  see,  by  the  merciless  way  in  which 
he  strove  to  put  down  heresy  within  his  realms,  he  never  gained 
any  great  influence  in  England.  By  his  marriage  with  Mary  he 
acquired  the  title  of  king,  but  the  English  took  care  that  he 
should  have  no  hand  in  the  government  nor  be  permitted  to 
succeed  his  wife  on  the  English  throne. 

Mary  succeeded  in  bringing  about  a  nominal  reconciliation 
between  England  and  the  Roman  Church.  In  1554  the  papal 
legate  restored  to  the  communion  of  the  Catholic  Church  the 
"  Kneeling  "  Parliament,  which  theoretically,  of  course,  repre- 
sented the  nation. 

During  the  last  four  years  of  Mary's  reign  the  most  serious 
religious  persecution  in  English  history  occurred.    No  less  than 


6 1 8  Outlines  of  European  History 

277  persons  were  put  to  death  for  denying  the  teachings  of  the 
Roman  Church.  The  majority  of  the  victims  were  humble  arti- 
sans and  husbandmen.  The  two  most  notable  sufferers  were 
two  bishops  named  Latimer  and  Ridley,  who  were  burned 
in  Oxford. 

It  was  Mary's  hope  and  belief  that  the  heretics  sent  to  the 
stake  would  furnish  a  terrible  warning  to  the  Protestants  and 
check  the  spread  of  the  new  teachings,  but  Catholicism  was  not 
promoted  ;  on  the  contrary,  doubters  were  only  convinced  of  the 
earnestness  of  the  Protestants  who  could  die  with  such  constancy.^ 


QUESTIONS 

Section  106.  How  did  the  Swiss  Confederation  originate.^  De- 
scribe the  reforms  begun  by  Zwingli.  Who  was  Calvin  and  what  are 
his  claims  to  distinction  ? 

Section  107.  Mention  the  chief  contemporaries  of  Erasmus, 
What  was  the  policy  of  Wolsey?  Describe  the  divorce  case  of 
Henry  VI H.  In  what  way  did  Henry  VIII  break  away  from  the 
papacy }  What  reforms  did  he  introduce  ?  What  was  the  dissolution 
of  the  monasteries  1 

Section  108.  W^hat  happened  during  the  reign  of  Edward  Wl 
What  was  the  policy  of  Queen  Mary  ? 

1  The  Catholics,  it  should  be  noted,  later  suffered  serious  persecution  under 
Elizabeth  and  James  I,  the  Protestant  successors  of  Mar^^  Death  was  the  penalty 
fixed  in  many  cases  for  those  who  obstinately  refused  to  recognize  the  monarch 
as  the  rightful  head  of  the  English  Church,  and  heavy  fines  were  imposed  for 
the  failure  to  attend  Protestant  worship.  Two  hundred  Catholic  priests  are 
said  to  have  been  executed  under  Elizabeth,  Mary's  sister,  who  succeeded  her  on 
the  throne ;  others  were  tortured  or  perished  miserably  in  prison. 


CHAPTER   XXVI 
THE  WARS  OF  RELIGION 

Section   109.    The  Council  of  Trent;    the  Jesuits 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  seen  how  northern  Ger- 
many, England,  and  portions  of  Switzerland  revolted  from  the 
papacy  and  established  independent  Protestant  churches.  A  great 
part  of  western  Europe,  however,  remained  faithful  to  the  Pope 
and  to  the  old  beliefs  which  had  been  accepted  for  so  many  cen- 
turies. In  order  to  consider  the  great  question  of  reforming  the 
Catholic  Church  and  to  settle  disputed  questions  of  religious  be- 
lief a  great  church  council  was  summoned  by  the  Pope  to  meet 
in  Trent,  on  the  confines  of  Germany  and  Italy,  in  the  year  1 545. 
Charles  V  hoped  that  the  Protestants  would  come  to  the  coun- 
cil and  that  their  ideas  might  even  yet  be  reconciled  with  those 
of  the  Catholics.  But  the  Protestants  did  not  come,  for  they 
were  too  suspicious  of  an  assembly  called  by  the  Pope  to  have 
any  confidence  in  its  decisions. 

The  Council  of  Trent  was  interrupted  after  a  few  sessions  Council 
and  did  not  complete  its  work  for  nearly  twenty  years  after  it  i545!.^i"6'3 
first  met.  It  naturally  condemned  the  Protestant  beliefs  so  far 
as  they  differed  from  the  views  held  by  the  Catholics,  and  it 
sanctioned  those  doctrines  which  the  Catholic  Church  still  holds. 
It  accepted  the  Pope  as  the  head  of  the  Church ;  it  declared 
accursed^  any  one  who,  like  Luther,  believed  that  man  would  be 
saved  by  faith  in  God's  promises  alone ;  for  the  Church  held 
that  man,  with  God's  help,  could  increase  his  hope  of  salvation 
by  good  works.  It  ratified  all  the  seven  sacraments,  several  of 
which  the  Protestants  had  rejected.  The  ancient  Latin  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible — the  Vulgate,  as  it  is  called — was  proclaimed 

619 


620 


Oiitliiies  of  European  History 


The  "  Index' 


Results  of 
the  reform 
of  the 
Catholic 
Church 


Ignatius 
Loyola, 
1491-1556, 
the  founder 
of  the 
Jesuits 


the  Standard  of  belief,  and  no  one  was  to  publish  any  views 
about  the  Bible  differing  from  those  approved  by  the  Church. 

The  Council  suggested  that  the  Pope's  officials  should  com- 
pile a  list  of  dangerous  books  which  faithful  Catholics  might 
not  read  for  fear  that  their  faith  in  the  old  Church  would  be 
disturbed.  Accordingly,  after  the  Council  broke  up,  the  Pope 
issued  the  first  "  Index,"  or  list  of  books  which  were  not  to  be 
further  printed  or  circulated  on  account  of  the  false  religious 
teachings  they  contained.  Similar  lists  have  since  been  printed 
from  time  to  time.  The  establishment  of  this  "  Index  of  Pro- 
hibited Books  "  was  one  of  the  most  famous  of  the  Council's 
acts.  It  was  hoped  that  in  this  way  the  spread  of  heretical  and 
immoral  ideas  through  the  printing  press  could  be  checked. 

Although  the  Council  of  Trent  would  make  no  compromises 
with  the  Protestants,  it  took  measures  to  do  away  with  certain 
abuses  of  which  both  Protestants  and  devout  Catholics  com- 
plained. All  clergymen  were  to  attend  strictly  to  their  duties, 
and  no  one  was  to  be  appointed  who  merely  wanted  the  income 
from  his  office.  The  bishops  were  ordered  to  preach  regularly 
and  to  see  that  only  good  men  were  ordained  priests.  A  great 
improvement  actually  took  place  —  better  men  were  placed  in 
office  and  many  practices  which  had  formerly  irritated  the  people 
were  permanently  abolished. 

Among  those  who,  during  the  final  sessions  of  the  Council, 
sturdily  opposed  every  attempt  to  reduce  in  any  way  the  exalted 
power  of  the  Pope,  was  the  head  of  a  new  religious  society 
which  was  becoming  the  most  powerful  Catholic  organization  in 
Europe.  The  Jesuit  order,  or  Society  of  Jesus,  was  founded  by  a 
Spaniard,  Ignatius  Loyola.  He  had  been  a  soldier  in  his  younger 
days,  and  while  bravely  fighting  for  his  king,  Charles  V,  had 
been  wounded  by  a  cannon  ball  (15  21).  Obliged  to  lie  inactive 
for  weeks,  he  occupied  his  time  in  reading  the  lives  of  the  saints 
and  became  filled  with  a  burning  ambition  to  emulate  their 
deeds.  Upon  recovering,  he  dedicated  himself  to  the  service  of 
the  Church,  donned  a  beggar's  gown,  and  started  on  a  pilgrimage 


■C  Xi 
c   - 

-C    o 

^^ 

O     OS 


11 


o    ^ 


biO 


OH  e 


c  r-  ~ 


2  S 


o    o 


621 


622 


Outlines  of  Eji7'opean  History 


Rigid  organ- 
ization and 
discipline  of 
the  Jesuits 


Objects  and 
methods  of 
the  new 
order 


to  Jerusalem.  Once  there  he  began  to  realize  that  he  could 
do  little  without  an  education.  So  he  returned  to  Spain  and, 
although  already  thirty-three  years  old,  took  his  place  beside 
the  boys  who  were  learning  the  elements  of  Latin  grammar. 
After  two  years  he  entered  a  Spanish  university,  and  later  went 
to  Paris  to  carry  on  his  theological  studies. 

In  Paris  he  sought  to  influence  his  fellow  students  at  the  uni- 
versity, and  finally,  in  1534,  seven  of  his  companions  agreed  to 
follow  him  to  Palestine  or,  if  they  were  prevented  from  doing 
that,  to  devote  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  Pope.  On  arriv- 
ing in  Venice  they  found  that  war  had  broken  out  between  that 
republic  and  the  Turks.  They  accordingly  gave  up  their  plan  for 
converting  the  infidels  in  the  Orient  and  began  to  preach  in  the 
neighboring  towns.  When  asked  to  what  order  they  belonged, 
they  replied,  "  To  the  Society  of  Jesus." 

In  1538  Loyola  summoned  his  followers  to  Rome,  and  there 
they  worked  out  the  principles  of  their  order.  When  this  had 
been  done  the  Pope  gave  his  sanction  to  the  new  society.^ 
Loyola  had  been  a  soldier,  and  he  laid  great  and  constant  stress 
upon  absolute  and  unquestioning  obedience.  This  he  declared 
to  be  the  mother  of  all  virtue  and  happiness.  Not  only  were  all 
the  members  to  obey  the  Pope  as  Christ's  representative  on 
earth,  and  to  undertake  without  hesitation  any  journey,  no  matter 
how  distant  or  perilous,  which  he  might  command,  but  each  was 
to  obey  his  superiors  in  the  order  as  if  he  were  receiving  direc- 
tions from  Christ  in  person.  He  must  have  no  will  or  prefer- 
ence of  his  own,  but  must  be  as  the  staff  which  supports  and 
aids  its  bearer  in  any  way  in  which  he  sees  fit  to  use  it.  This 
admirable  organization  and  incomparable  discipline  were  the 
great  secret  of  the  later  influence  of  the  Jesuits. 

The  object  of  the  society  was  to  cultivate  piety  and  the  love 
of  God,  especially  through  example.  The  miembers  were  to 
pledge  themselves  to  lead  a  pure  life  of  poverty  and  devotion. 
A  great  number  of  its  members  were  priests,  who  went  about 

1  See  Readings^  II,  chap,  xxviii. 


The  Vf^ars  of  Religio72 


623 


preaching,  hearing  confession,  and  encouraging  devotional  exer- 
cises. But  the  Jesuits  were  teachers  as  well  as  preachers  and 
confessors.  They  clearly  perceived  the  advantage  of  bringing 
young  people  under  their  influence ;  they  opened  schools  and 
seminaries  and    soon    became  the   schoolmasters  of    Catholic 


Fig.  217.    Principal  Jesuit  Church  in  Venice 

The  Jesuits  believed  in  erecting  magnificent  churches.    This  is  a  good 
example.    The  walls  are  inlaid  with  green  marble  in  an  elaborate  pat- 
tern, and  all  the  furnishings  are  very  rich  and  gorgeous 


Europe.    So  successful  were  their  methods  of  instruction  that 
even  Protestants  sometimes  sent  their  children  to  them. 

Before  the  death  of  Loyola  over  a  thousand  persons  had 
joined  the  society.  Under  his  successor  the  number  was  trebled, 
and  it  went  on  increasing  for  two  centuries.  The  founder  of  numbers 
the  order  had  been,  as  we  have  seen,  attracted  to  missionary 
work  from  the  first,  and  the  Jesuits  rapidly  spread  not  only 
over  Europe  but  throughout  the  whole  world.    Francis  Xavier, 


Rapid  in- 
crease of  the 
Jesuits  in 


624 


Outlines  of  E^iropean  History 


Their  mis- 
sions and 
explorations 


Their  fight 
against  the 
Protestants 


Accusations 
brought 
against  the 
Jesuits 


one  of  Loyola's  original  little  band,  went  to  Hindustan,  the 
Moluccas,  and  Japan.  Brazil,  Florida,  Mexico,  and  Peru  were 
soon  fields  of  active  missionary  work  at  a  time  when  Protestantb 
as  yet  scarcely  dreamed  of  carrying  Christianity  to  the  heathen. 
We  owe  to  the  Jesuits'  reports  much  of  our  knowledge  of  the  con- 
dition of  America  when  white  men  first  began  to  explore  Canada 
and  the  Mississippi  valley,  for  the  followers  of  Loyola  boldly  pene- 
trated into  regions  unknown  to  Europeans,  and  settled  among 
the  natives  with  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  Gospel  to  them. 

Dedicated  as  they  were  to  the  service  of  the  Pope,  the  Jesuits 
early  directed  their  energies  against  Protestantism.  They  sent 
their  members  into  Germany  and  the  Netherlands,  and  even 
made  strenuous  efforts  to  reclaim  England.  Their  success  was 
most  apparent  in  southern  Germany  and  Austria,  where  they 
became  the  confessors  and  confidential  advisers  of  the  rulers. 
They  not  only  succeeded  in  checking  the  progress  of  Protestant- 
ism, but  were  able  to  reconquer  for  the  Catholic  Church  some 
districts  in  which  the  old  faith  had  been  abandoned. 

Protestants  soon  realized  that  the  new  order  was  their  most 
powerful  and  dangerous  enemy.  Their  apprehensions  produced 
a  bitter  hatred  which  blinded  them  to  the  high  purposes  of  the 
founders  of  the  order  and  led  them  to  attribute  an  evil  purpose 
to  every  act  of  the  Jesuits.  The  Jesuits'  air  of  humility  the 
Protestants  declared  to  be  mere  hypocrisy  under  which  they 
carried  on  their  intrigues.  They  were  popularly  supposed  to 
justify  the  most  deceitful  and  immoral  measures  on  the  ground 
that  the  result  would  be  "  for  the  greater  glory  of  God."  The 
very  obedience  on  which  the  Jesuits  laid  such  stress  was  viewed 
by  the  hostile  Protestant  as  one  of  their  worst  offenses,  for  he 
believed  that  the  members  of  the  order  were  the  blind  tools  of 
their  superiors  and  that  they  would  not  hesitate  even  to  commit 
a  crime  if  so  ordered.^ 


1  As  time  went  on  the  Jesuit  order  degenerated  just  as  the  earher  ones  had 
done.  In  the  eighteenth  century  it  undertook  great  commercial  enterprises, 
and  for  this   and  other  reasons  lost  the  confidence   and  respect  of  even  the 


I 


The  Wars  of  Religion  625 

Section  iio.    Philip  II  and  the  Revolt  of 
THE  Netherlands 

The  chief  ally  of  the  Pope  and  the  Jesuits  in  their  efforts  to  Philip  11,  the 

check  Protestantism  in  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  of  Protes"^^ 

was  the  son  of  Charles  V,  Philip  II.    Like  the  Jesuits  he  enjoys  ^^oJ^'^the 

a  most  unenviable  reputation  among  Protestants.    Certain  it  is  rulers  of 

Europe 

that  they  had  no  more  terrible  enemy  among  the  rulers  of  the 
day  than  he.  He  eagerly  forwarded  every  plan  to  attack  Eng- 
land's Protestant  queen,  Elizabeth,  and  finally  manned  a  mighty 
fleet  with  the  purpose  of  overthrowing  her  (see  below,  p.  644). 
He  resorted,  moreover,  to  great  cruelty  in  his  attempts  to  bring 
back  his  possessions  in  the  Netherlands  to  what  he  believed  to 
be  the  true  faith. 

Charles  V,  crippled  with  the  gout  and  old  before  his  time.   Division  of 
laid  down   the   cares  of  government  in    1555-1556-    To  his  polseSon'^'^^ 
brother  Ferdinand,  who  had  acquired  by  marriage  the  king-   Q^gJ^J^^JJ  ^|^^ 
doms  of  Bohemia  and  Hungary,  Charles  had  earlier  transferred   Spanish 
the  German  possessions  of  the  Hapsburgs.    To  his  son,  Philip  II 
(i 556-1598),  he  gave  Spain  with  its  great  American  colonies, 
Milan,  the  kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  and  the  Netherlands.^ 

Catholics.  The  king  of  Portugal  was  the  first  to  banish  the  Jesuits  from  his 
kingdom,  and  then  France,  where  they  had  long  been  very  unpopular  with  an 
influential  party  of  the  Catholics,  expelled  them  in  1764.  Convinced  that  the 
order  had  outgrown  its  usefulness,  the  Pope  abolished  it  in  1773.  It  was,  however, 
restored  in  18 14,  and  now  again  has  thousands  of  members. 

1  Division  of  the  Hapsburg  possessions  between  the  Spanish  and  the  German 
branches : 
Maximilian  I  (d.  15 19),  m.  Mar)'  of  Burgundy  (d.  1482) 

Philip  (d.  1506),  m.  Joanna  the  Insane  (d.  1555) 


Charles  V  (d.  1558)  Ferdinand  (d.  1564),  m.  Anna,  heiress  to  kingdoms 

Emperor.  1519-1556  Emperor,  15 56-1 564   I       of  Bohemia  and  Hungary 

Philip  II  (d.  1598)  Maximilian  II  (d.  1576) 

inherits  Spain,  the  Netherlands,  Emperor,  and  inherits  Bohemia, 

and  the  Italian  possessions  of  Hungary,  and  the  Austrian  pos- 

the  Hapsburgs  sessions  of  the  Hapsburgs 

The  map  of  Europe  in  the  sixteenth  century  (see  above,  p.  572)  indicates  the 
vast  extent  of  the  combined  possessions  of  the  Spanish  and  German  Hapsburgs. 


626 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Philip  ITs 
fervent 
desire  to 
stamp  out 
Protestantism 


The  Nether- 
lands 


Charles  had  constantly  striven  to  maintain  the  old  religion 
within  his  dominions.  He  had  never  hesitated  to  use  the  Inqui- 
sition in  Spain  and  the  Netherlands,  and  it  was  the  great  dis- 
appointment of  his  life  that  a  part  of  his  empire  had  become 
Protestant.  He  was,  nevertheless,  no  fanatic.  Like  many  of 
the  princes  of  the  time,  he  was  forced  to  take  sides  on  the 
religious  question  without,  perhaps,  himself  having  any  deep 
religious  sentiments.  The  maintenance  of  the  Catholic  faith 
he  believed  to  be  necessary  in  order  that  he  should  keep  his 
hold  upon  his  scattered  and  diverse  dominions. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  whole  life  and  policy  of  his  son  Philip 
were  guided  by  a  fervent  attachment  to  the  old  religion.  He 
was  willing  to  sacrifice  both  himself  and  his  country  in  his  long 
fight  against  the  detested  Protestants  within  and  without  his 
realms.  And  he  had  vast  resources  at  his  disposal,  for  Spain 
was  a  strong  power,  not  only  on  account  of  her  income  from 
America,  but  also  because  her  soldiers  and  their  -commanders 
were  the  best  in  Europe  at  this  period. 

The  Netherlands,  which  were  to  cause  Philip  his  first  and 
greatest  trouble,  included  seventeen  provinces  which  Charles  V 
had  inherited  from  his  grandmother,  Mary  of  Burgundy.  They 
occupied  the  position  on  the  map  where  we  now  find  the  king- 
doms of  Holland  and  Belgium.  Each  of  the  provinces  had  its 
own  government,  but  Charles  V  had  grouped  them  together  and 
arranged  that  the  German  Empire  should  protect  them.  In  the 
north  the  hardy  Germanic  population  had  been  able,  by  means 
of  dikes  which  kept  out  the  sea,  to  reclaim  large  tracts  of  low- 
lands. Here  considerable  cities  had  grown  up  —  Harlem, 
Leyden,  Amsterdam,  and  Rotterdam,  To  the  south  were  the 
flourishing  towns  of  Ghent,  Bruges,  Brussds,  and  Antwerp, 
which  had  for  hundreds  of  years  been  centers  of  manufacture 
and  trade. 

Charles  V,  in  spite  of  some  very  harsh  measures,  had  retained 
the  loyalty  of  the  people  of  the  Netherlands,  for  he  was  himself 
one  of  them,  and  they  felt  a  patriotic  pride  in  his  achievements. 


The  Wars  of  Religion 


627 


Philip  ITS 
harsh  atti- 
tude toward 


Toward  Philip  II  their  attitude  was  very  different.   His  haughty 

manner  made  a  disagreeable  impression  upon  the  people  at 

Brussels  when  his  father  first  introduced  him  to  them  as  their  the  Nether- 
lands 

future  ruler.     He  was  to  them  a  Spaniard  and  a  foreigner,  and 
he  ruled  them  as  such  after  he  returned  to  Spain. 


Fig.  218.    Fhilu^  II,  by  Antonio  Moro 

Instead  of  attempting  to  win  them  by  meeting  their  legitimate 
demands,  he  did  everything  to  alienate  all  classes  in  his  Bur- 
gundian  realm  and  to  increase  their  natural  hatred  and  suspicion 
of  the  Spaniards.  The  people  were  forced  to  house  Spanish 
soldiers  whose  insolence  drove  them  nearly  to  desperation. 

What  was  still  worse,  Philip  proposed  that  the  Inquisition   The  inqui- 
(see  above,  p.  483)  should  carry  on  its  work  far  more  actively   Netherlands 
than  hitherto  and  put  an  end  to  the  heresy  which  appeared  to 


628 


Outlines  of  Eiiropea7i  History 


Protest 
against 
Philip's 
policy 


Philip  sends 
the  Duke  of 
Alva  to  the 
Netherlands 


Alva's  cruel 
administra- 
tion, 1567- 
1573 


him  to  defile  his  fair  realms.  The  Inquisition  was  no  new  thing 
to  the  provinces.  Charles  V  had  issued  the  most  cruel  edicts 
against  the  followers  of  Luther,  Zwingli,  and  Calvin.  According 
to  a  law  of  1550,  heretics  who  persistently  refused  to  recant 
were  to  be  burned  alive.  Even  those  who  confessed  their  errors 
and  abjured  their  heresy  were,  if  men,  to  lose  their  heads ;  if 
women,  to  be  buried  alive.  In  either  case  their  property  was 
to  be  confiscated.  The  lowest  estimate  of  those  who  were 
executed  in  the  Netherlands  during  Charles's  reign  is  fifty  thou- 
sand. Although  these  terrible  laws  had  not  checked  the  growth 
of  Protestantism,  all  of  Charles's  decrees  were  solemnly  re- 
enacted  by  Philip  in  the  first  month  of  his  reign. 

For  ten  years  the  people  suffered  Philip's  rule ;  nevertheless 
their  king,  instead  of  listening  to  the  protests  of  their  leaders, 
who  were  quite  as  earnest  Catholics  as  himself,  appeared  to  be 
bent  on  the  destruction  of  the  land.  So  in  1566  some  five  hun- 
dred of  the  nobles  ventured  to  protest  against  Philip's  policy. 
Thereupon  Philip  took  a  step  which  led  finally  to  the  revolt  of 
the  Netherlands.  He  decided  to  dispatch  to  the  low  countries 
the  remorseless  Duke  of  Alva,  whose  conduct  has  made  his 
name  synonymous  with  blind  and  unmeasured  cruelty. 

The  report  that  Alva  was  coming  caused  the  flight  of  many 
of  those  who  especially  feared  his  approach.  William  of  Orange, 
who  was  to  be  the  leader  in  the  approaching  war  against  Spain, 
went  to  Germany.  Thousands  of  Flemish  weavers  fled  across 
the  North  Sea,  and  the  products  of  their  looms  became  before 
long  an  important  article  of  export  from  England. 

Alva  brought  with  him  a  fine  army  of  Spanish  soldiers,  ten 
thousand  in  number  and  superbly  equipped.  He  appeared  to 
think  that  the  wisest  and  quickest  way  of  pacifying  the  discon- 
tented provinces  was  to  kill  all  those  who  ventured  to  criticize 
"  the  best  of  kings,"  of  whom  he  had  the  honor  to  be  the 
faithful  servant.  He  accordingly  established  a  special  court 
for  the  speedy  trial  and  condemnation  of  all  those  whose 
fidelity  to  Philip  was  suspected.    This  was  popularly  known  as 


The  Wars  of  Religio7t  629 

the  Council  of  Blood,  for  its  aim  was  not  justice  but  butchety.    The  Council 

Alva's  administration  from  1567  to  1573  was  a  veritable  reign 

of  terror. 

The  Netherlands  found  a  leader  in  William,  Prince  of  Orange   William  of 

and  Count  of  Nassau.     He  is  a  national  hero  whose  career  canned  the 

bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  that  of  Washington.    Like  the   Silent,  1533- 

1504 

American  patriot,  he  undertook  the  seemingly  hopeless  task  of 
freeing  his  people  from  the  oppressive  rule  of  a  distant  king. 
To  the  Spaniards  he  appeared  to  be  only  an  impoverished 
nobleman  at  the  head  of  a  handful  of  armed  peasants  and  fisher- 
men, contending  against  the  sovereign  of  the  richest  realm  in 
the  world. 

William  had  been  a  faithful  subject  of  Charles  V  and  would  William  the 
gladly  have  continued  to  serve  his  son  after  him  had  the  lectsanVrmy 
oppression  and  injustice  of  the  Spanish  dominion  not  become 
intolerable.  But  Alva's  policy  convinced  him  that  it  was  use- 
less to  send  any  more  complaints  to  Philip.  He  accordingly 
collected  a  little  army  in  1568  and  opened  the  long  struggle 
with  Spain. 

William  found  his  main  support  in  the  northern  provinces.    Differences 
of  which  Holland  was  the  chief.    The  Dutch,  who  had  very  northern 
generally  accepted  Protestant  teachings,  were  purely  German   S^^^f ' 
in   blood,  while   the    people    of  the    southern   provinces,   who   provinces 
adhered  (as  they  still  do)  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  were   southern 
more  akin  to  the  population  of  northern  France. 

The  Spanish   soldiers  found   little   trouble  in  defeating  the   William 
troops  which  William   collected.    Like  Washington,   again,   he   governor  of 
seemed  to  lose  almost  every   battle   and  yet  was  never  con-   ?°l'^"j  ^"^ 
quered.    The  first  successes  of  the  Dutch  were  gained  by  the    1572 
mariners  who  captured  Spanish  ships  and  sold  them  in  Protestant 
England.    PLncouraged  by  this,  many  of  the  towns  in  the  northern 
provinces  of  Holland  and  Zealand  ventured  to  choose  William 
as  their  governor,  although  they  did  not  throw  off  their  allegiance 
to  Philip.    In  this  way  these  two  provinces  became  the  nucleus 
of  the  United  Netherlands. 


630 


Ojitlines  of  E7Lropea7i  History 


Both  the 

northern  and 

southern 

provinces 

combine 

against 

Spain,  1576 


The  "  Span- 
ish fury  " 


The  Union 
of  Utrecht 


The  northern 

provinces 

declare 

themselves 

independent 

of  Spain, 

1581 

Assassination 
of  William 
the  Silent 


Alva  recaptured  a  number  of  the  revolted  towns  and  treated 
their  inhabitants  with  his  customary  cruelty ;  even  women  and 
children  were  slaughtered  in  cold  blood.  But  instead  of  quench- 
ing the  rebellion,  he  aroused  the  Catholic  southern  provinces 
to  revolt. 

After  six  years  of  this  tyrannical  and  mistaken  policy,  Alva 
was  recalled.  His  successor  soon  died  and  left  matters  worse 
than  ever.  The  leaderless  soldiers,  trained  in  Alva's  school, 
indulged  in  wild  orgies  of  robbery  and  murder ;  they  plun- 
dered and  partially  reduced  to  ashes  the  rich  city  of  Antwerp. 
The  "  Spanish  fury,"  as  this  outbreak  was  called,  together  with 
the  hated  taxes,  created  such  general  indignation  that  repre- 
sentatives from  all  of  Philip's  Burgundian  provinces  met  at 
Ghent  in  1576  with  the  purpose  of  combining  to  put  an  end 
to  the  Spanish  tyranny. 

This  union  was,  however,  only  temporary.  Wiser  and  more 
moderate  governors  were  sent  by  Philip  to  the  Netherlands, 
and  they  soon  succeeded  in  again  winning  the  confidence  of 
the  southern  Catholic  provinces.  So  the  northern  provinces  went 
their  own  way.  Guided  by  \Mlliam  the  Silent,  they  refused  to 
consider  the  idea  of  again  recognizing  Philip  as  their  king.  In 
1579  seven  provinces  (Holland,  Zealand,  Utrecht,  Gelderland, 
Overyssel,  Groningen,  and  Friesland,  all  lying  north  of  the 
mouths  of  the  Rhine  and  the  Scheldt)  formed  the  new  and 
firmer  Union  of  Utrecht.  The  articles  of  this  union  served  as 
a  constitution  for  the  United  Provinces  which,  two  years  later, 
at  last  formally  declared  themselves  independent  of  Spain. 

Philip  realized  that  William  was  the  soul  of  the  revolt  and 
that  without  him  it  might  not  improbably  have  been  put 
down.  The  king  therefore  offered  a  patent  of  nobility  and 
a  large  sum  of  money  to  any  one  who  should  make  way  with 
the  Dutch  patriot.  After  several  unsuccessful  attempts,  William, 
who  had  been  chosen  hereditary  governor  of  the  United  Prov- 
inces, was  shot  in  his  house  at  Delft,  1584.  He  died  praying 
the  Lord  to  have  pity  upon  his  soul  and  "  on  this  poor  people." 


The  Wars  of  Religion  631 

The  Dutch  had  long  hoped  for  aid  from  Queen  Elizabeth  or   Reasons  why 
from  the  French,  but  had  heretofore   been  disappointed.    At   finally  "won 
last  the  English  queen  decided  to  send  troops  to  their  assistance.   ^^^^\  i"^^- 

^  ^  ^  pendence 

While  the  English  rendered  but  little  actual   help,   Elizabeth's 
policy  so  enraged  Philip  that  he  at  last  decided  to  attempt  the 
conquest  of  England.    The  destruction  of  the  "  Armada,"  the 
great  fleet  which  he  equipped  for  that  purpose,^  interfered  with 
further  attempts  to  subjugate  the  United  Provinces,  which  might 
otherwise  have  failed  to  maintain  their  liberty.   Moreover,  Spain's 
resources  were  being  rapidly  exhausted,  and  the  State  was  on  the 
verge  of  bankruptcy  in  spite  of  the  wealth  which  it  had  been  draw-  independ- 
ing  from  across  the  sea.   But  even  though  Spain  had  to  surrender  t?nfted 
the  hope  of  winning  back  the  lost  provinces,  which  now  became  a   Provinces 
small  but  important  European  power,  she  refused  formally  to   edged  by 
acknowledge  their  independence  until  1 648  (Peace  of  Westphalia), 


Section   hi.    The  Huguenot  Wars  in  France 

The  history  of  France  during  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth   Beginnings 
century  is  little  more  than  a  chronicle  of   a  long  and  bloody  ^ntism^ri 
series  of  civil  wars  between  the  Catholics  and  Protestants.  France 

Protestantism  began  in  France  in  much  the  same  way  as  in 
England.  Those  who  had  learned  from  the  Italians  to  love  the 
Greek  language  turned  to  the  New' Testament  in  the  original 
and  commenced  to  study  it  with  new  insight.  Lefevre,  the  most  Lefevre, 
conspicuous  of  these  Erasmus-like  reformers,  translated  the  ^^^50-15^7 
Bible  into  French  and  began  to  preach  justification  by  faith 
before  he  had  ever  heard  of  Luther. 

The  Sorbonne,  the  famous  theological  school  at  Paris,  soon    Persecution 

,  ,  .   .  ^    „  .      T  •  1  of  the  Protes- 

began  to  arouse  the  suspicions  of  Francis  I  against  the  new  tants  under 


ideas.  He  had  no  special  interest  in  religious  matters,  but  he 
was  shocked  by  an  act  of  desecration  ascribed  to  the  Protestants, 
and  in  consequence  forbade  the  circulation  of  Protestant  books. 
About  1535  several  adherents  of  the  new  faith  were  burned, 

1  See  below,  p.  644. 


Francis  I 


632 


Oiitliiics  of  European  History 


Massacre  of 
the  Walden- 
sians,  1545 


Persecution 
under 
Henr>'  II, 
1547-1559 


Francis  II, 
1559-1560, 
Mar}'    Queen 
of  Scots,  and 
the  Guises 


The  queen- 
mother, 
Catherine  of 
Medici 


and  Calvin  was  forced  to  flee  to  Basel,  where  he  prepared  a 
defense  of  his  beliefs  in  his  Institutes  of  Christianity  (see  above, 
p.  607).  This  is  prefaced  by  a  letter  to  Francis  in  which  he  pleads 
with  him  to  protect  the  Protestants.^  PYancis,  before  his  death, 
became  so  intolerant  that  he  ordered  the  massacre  of  three 
thousand  defenseless  peasants  who  dwelt  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Alps,  and  whose  only  offense  was  adherence  to  the  simple 
teachings  of  the  Waldensians."'^ 

Francis's  son,  Henry  II  (i 547-1 559),  swore  to  extirpate  the 
Protestants,  and  hundreds  of  them  were  burned.  Nevertheless, 
Henry  IPs  religious  convictions  did  not  prevent  him  from,  will- 
ingly aiding  the  German  Protestants  against  his  enemy  Charles  V, 
especially  when  they  agreed  to  hand  over  to  him  three  bish- 
oprics which  lay  on  the  French  boundar}'  —  Metz,  Verdun, 
and  Toul. 

Henry  II  was  accidentally  killed  in  a  tourney  and  left  his 
kingdom  to  three  weak  sons,  the  last  scions  of  the  house  of 
Valois,  who  succeeded  in  turn  to  the  throne  during  a  period  of 
unprecedented  civil  war  and  public  calamity.  The  eldest  son, 
Francis  II,  a  boy  of  sixteen,  followed  his  father.  His  chief  im- 
portance for  France  arose  from  his  marriage  with  the  daughter 
of  King  James  V  of  Scotland,  Mary  Stuart,  who  became  famous 
as  Mar)''  Queen  of  Scots.  Her  mother  was  the  sister  of  two 
wQvy  ambitious  French  nobles,  the  Duke  of  Guise  and  the  cardinal 
of  Lorraine.  Francis  II  was  so  young  that  Mary's  uncles,  the 
Guises,  eagerly  seized  the  opportunity  to  manage  his  affairs  for 
him.  The  duke  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  army,  and  the 
cardinal  of  the  government.  When  the  king  died,  after  reigning 
but  a  year,  the  Guises  were  naturally  reluctant  to  surrender  their 
power,  and  many  of  the  woes  of  France  for  the  next  forty  years 
were  due  to  the  machinations  which  they  carried  on  in  the  name 
of  the  Holy  Catholic  religion. 

The  new  king,  Charles  IX  (15  60-1 5  7  4),  was  but  ten  years 
old,  so  that  his  mother,  Catherine  of  Medici,  of  the  famous 

1  See  Readings^  II,  chap,  xxviii.  2  See  above,  p.  482. 


The  Wars  of  Religion  633 

Florentine  family,   claimed   the   right  to   conduct   the   govern- 
ment for  her  son  until  he  reached  manhood. 

By  this  time  the  Protestants  in  France  had  become  a  power- 
ful party.    They  were  known  as  Huguenots  ^  and  accepted  the 


Fig.  219.   Francis  II  of  France 

This  is  from  a  contemporaneous  engraving.    The  boy  king,  the  first 
husband  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  died  when  he  was  only  17  years  old 

religious  teachings  of  their  fellow  countryman,  Calvin.    Many  The  Hugue- 

of  them,  including  their  great  leader  Coligny,  belonged  to  the  "hefr  political 

nobility.    They  had  a  strong  support  in  the  king  of  the  little  ^i"^^ 
realm  of  Navarre,  on  the  southern  boundary  of  France.    He 

1  The  origin  of  this  name  is  uncertain. 


634 


Outlines  of  European  History 


•CXI 

U    O 


T3  ^c/3 

8> 

OS    -tJ 
(U     O 

oJ    o 


DO 


-eoi- 


X 


u 


*j 

O 

oi 

3 

■Jl 

C/i 

o 

1^ 

3 

O 

u  5  <-*  ^  '^ 

rO     CJ     tU     ?     G 

■^    O  5;    rt    o 


O  T3 

3^  00 


grants  con- 
ditional 
toleration 
to  the 


TJie  Wars  of  Religion  635 

belonged  to  a  side  line  of  the  French  royal  house,  known  as   The 
the   Bourbons,  who  were  later  to  occupy  the    French   throne      ^^^  °"^ 
(see  genealogical  table,  p.  634).     It  was   inevitable   that   the 
Huguenots  should  try  to  get  control  of  the  government,  and 
they  consequently  formed  a  political  as  well  as  a  religious  party 
and  were  often  fighting,  in  the  main,  for  worldly  ends. 

Catherine  tried  at  first  to  conciliate  both  Catholics  and  Hu-   Catherine 
guenots,  and  granted  a  Decree  of  Toleration  (1562)  suspending 
the  former  edicts  against  the  Protestants  and  permitting  them 
to  assemble  for  worship  during  the  daytime  and  outside  of  the   Protestants, 
towns.    Even  this  restricted  toleration  of  the  Protestants  ap-     ^ 
peared  an  abomination  to  the  more  fanatical   Catholics,   and 
a  savage  act  of  the  Duke  of  Guise  precipitated  civil  war. 

As  he  was  passing  through  the  town  of  A'assy  on  a  Sunday   The  massa- 
he  found  a  thousand  Huguenots  assembled  in  a  barn  for  wor-  an? the   ^^^^ 
ship.    The  duke's  followers  rudelv  interrupted  the  service,  and   ope^'^g  of 

^  y  I-  '  the  ^yai-g  of 

a  tumult  arose  in  which  the  troops  killed  a  considerable  num-  religion 
ber  of  the  defenseless  multitude.  The  news  of  this  massacre 
aroused  the  Huguenots  and  was  the  beginning  of  a  war  which 
continued,  broken  only  by  short  truces,  until  the  last  weak 
descendant  of  the  house  of  Valois  ceased  to  reign.  As  in  the 
other  religious  wars  of  the  time,  both  sides  exhibited  the  most 
inhuman  cruelty.  France  was  filled  for  a  generation  with 
burnings,  pillage,  and  every  form  of  barbarity.  The  leaders 
of  both  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  parties,  as  well  as  two  of 
the  French  kings  themselves,  fell  by  the  hands  of  assassins, 
and  France  renewed  in  civil  war  all  the  horrors  of  the  English 
invasion  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries. 

In  1570  a  brief  peace  was  concluded.    The  Huguenots  were   Coligny's 

,  ,  ,  ,  .  •  1    ^       xi  influence  and 

to   be   tolerated,   and    certam    towns   were   assigned   to   them,  pian  for  a 

where  they  might  defend  themselves  in  case  of  renewed  attacks  "^a-^gf  ^^^ 

from  the  Catholics.    For  a  time  both  Charles  IX  and  his  mother,  Philip  1 1 
Catherine  of  Medici,  were  on  the  friendliest  terms  with  the  Hu- 
guenot leader  Coligny,  who  became  a  sort  of  prime  minister. 
He  was  anxious  that  Catholics  and  Protestants  should  join  in 


636 


Outlines  of  Europe aji  History 


Plot  against 
Coligny 


Massacre  of 
St.  Bartholo- 
mew, 1572 


The  Holy 
League 


Question  of 
the  succes- 
sion to 
the  French 
throne 


a  great  national  war  against  France's  old  enemy,  Spain.  In  this 
way  the  whole  people  of  France  might  sink  their  religious  dif- 
ferences in  a  patriotic  effort  to  win  Franche-Comte  (see  above, 
p,  575),  which  seemed  naturally  to  belong  to  France  rather 
than  to  Spain. 

The  strict  Catholic  party  of  the  Guises  frustrated  this  plan 
by  a  most  fearful  expedient.  They  easily  induced  Catherine 
of  Medici  to  believe  that  she  was  being  deceived  by  Coligny, 
and  an  assassin  was  engaged  to  put  him  out  of  the  way ;  but 
the  scoundrel  missed  his  aim  and  only  wounded  his  victim. 
Fearful  lest  the  young  king,  who  was  faithful  to  Coligny, 
should  discover  her  part  in  the  attempted  murder,  Catherine 
invented  a  story  of  a  great  Huguenot  conspiracy.  The  credu- 
lous king  was  deceived,  and  the  Catholic  leaders  at  Paris  ar- 
ranged that  at  a  given  signal  not  only  Coligny,  but  all  the 
Huguenots,  who  had  gathered  in  great  numbers  in  the  city  to 
witness  the  marriage  of  the  king's  sister  to  the  Protestant  Henry 
of  Navarre,  should  be  massacred  on  the  eve  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
Day  (August  23,  1572). 

The  signal  was  duly  given,  and  no  less  than  two  thousand 
persons  were  ruthlessly  murdered  in  Paris  before  the  end  of 
the  next  day.  The  news  of  this  attack  spread  into  the  prov- 
inces, and  it  is  probable  that,  at  the  very  least,  ten  thousand 
more  Protestants  were  put  to  death  outside  of  the  capital 
Civil  war  again  broke  out,  and  the  Catholics  formed  the  famous 
Holy  League,  under  the  leadership  of  Henry  of  Guise,  for  the 
advancement  of  their  interests,  the  destruction  of  the  Hugue- 
nots, and  the  extirpation  of  heresy. 

Henry  HI  (1574-1589),  the  last  of  the  sons  of  Henry  II, 
who  succeeded  Charles  IX,  had  no  heirs,  and  the  great  question 
of  succession  arose.  The  Huguenot  Henry  of  Navarre  was 
the  nearest  male  relative,  but  the  League  could  never  consent 
to  permit  the  throne  of  France  to  be  sullied  by  heresy,  espe- 
cially as  their  leader,  Henry  of  Guise,  was  himself  anxious  to 
become  king. 


The  Wars  of  Religion 


637 


Henry  III  was  driven  weakly  from  one  party  to  the  other, 
and  it  finally  came  to  a  war  between  the  three  Henrys  — 
Henry  HI,  Henry  of  Navarre,  and  Henry  of  Guise  (i  585-1 589). 
It  ended  in  a  way  characteristic  of  the  times.  Henry  the  king 
had   Henry  of  Guise  assassinated.     The  sympathizers  of  the 


War  of  the 

three 

Henrys, 

1585-1589' 


# 


Fig.  220.    Henry  IV  of  Franxe 

This  spirited  portrait  of  Henry  of  Navarre  gives  an  excellent 
impression  of  his  geniality  and  good  sense 


League  then  assassinated  Henry  the  king,  which  left  the  field 
to  Henry  of  Navarre.  He  ascended  the  throne  as  Henry  IV 
in  1589  and  is  an  heroic  figure  in  the  line  of  French  kings. 

The  new  king  had  many  enemies,  and  his  kingdom  was 
devastated  and  demoralized  by  years  of  war.  He  soon  saw  that 
he  must  accept  the  religion  of  the  majority  of  his  people  if  he 
wished  to  reign  over  them.  He  accordingly  asked  to  be  read- 
mitted to  the  Catholic  Church  (1593),  excusing  himself  on  the 


Henry  IV, 
1589-1610, 
becomes  a 
Cathohc 


638 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Edict  of 
Nantes,  1598 


Ministry  of 
Sully 


ground  that  "  Paris  was  worth  a  mass."  He  did  not  forget  his 
old  friends,  however,  and  in  1598  he  issued  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 

By  this  edict  of  toleration  the  Calvinists  were  permitted  to 
hold  services  in  all  the  towns  and  villages  where  they  had  pre- 
viously held  them,  but  in  Paris  and  a  number  of  other  towns 
all  Protestant  services  were  prohibited.  The  Protestants  were 
to  enjoy  the  same  political  rights  as  Catholics,  and  to  be  eligible 
to  government  offices.  A  number  of  fortified  towns  Were  to 
remain  in  the  hands  of  the  Huguenots,  particularly  La  Rochelle, 
Montauban,  and  Nimes.  Henry's  only  mistake  lay  in  granting 
the  Huguenots  the  right  to  control  fortified  towns.  In  the  next 
generation  this  privilege  aroused  the  suspicion  of  the  king's 
minister,  Richelieu,  who  attacked  the  Huguenots,  not  so  much 
on  religious  grounds  as  on  account  of  their  independent  position 
in  the  state,  which  suggested  that  of  the  older  feudal  nobles. 

Henry  IV  chose  Sully,  an  upright  and  able  Calvinist,  for  his 
chief  minister.  Sully  set  to  work  to  reestablish  the  kingly  power, 
which  had  suffered  greatly  under  the  last  three  brothers  of  the 

ghten  the  tremendous  burden 


Assassination 
of  Henry  IV, 
1610 


Richelieu 


house  of  Valois.   He  undertook  to 

of  debt  which  weighed  upon  the  country 


He  laid  out  new  roads 


and  canals,  and  encouraged  agriculture  and  commerce :  he  dis- 
missed the  useless  noblemen  and  officers  whom  the  government 
was  supporting  without  any  advantage  to  itself.  Had  his  ad- 
ministration not  been  prematurely  interrupted,  it  might  have 
brought  France  unprecedented  power  and  prosperity ;  but  reli- 
gious fanaticism  put  an  end  to  his  reforms. 

In  1 610  Henry  IV,  like  William  the  Silent,  was  assassinated 
just  in  the  midst  of  his  greatest  usefulness  to  his  country.  Sully 
could  not  agree  with  the  regent,  Henry's  widow,  and  so  gave 
up  his  position  and  retired  to  private  life. 

Before  many  years  Richelieu,  perhaps  the  greatest  minister 
France  has  ever  had.  rose  to  power,  and  from  1624  to  his  death 
in  1642  he  governed  France  for  Henr)'  IV's  son,  Louis  XIII 
(16 1 0-1643).  Something  will  be  said  of  his  policy  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Thirty  Years'  War  (see  section  113). 


The  Wars  of  Religion  639 

Section  112.   England  under  Queen  Elizabeth 

The  long  and   disastrous  civil  war  between  Catholics   and   England 
Protestants,  which  desolated  France  in  the  sixteenth  century,  beth,  1558-' 
had  happily  no  counterpart  in  England.    During  her  long  reign   ^^°^ 
Queen  Elizabeth  succeeded  not  only  in  maintaining  peace  at 
home,  but  in  frustrating  the  conspiracies  and  attacks  of  Philip  II, 
which  threatened  her  realm  from  without.     Moreover,  by  her 
interference  in  the  Netherlands,  she  did  much  to  secure  their 
independence  of  Spain. 

Upon  the  death  of  Catholic  Mary  and  the  accession  of  her   Elizabeth 
sister  Elizabeth  in  1558,  the  English  government  became  once   protestant 
more  Protestant.    The  new  queen  had  a  new  revised  edition   esJ^^^fshe^ 
issued  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  which  had  been  pre-  the  church 

of  England 

pared  in  the  time  of  her  brother,  Edward  VI.  This  contained 
the  services  which  the  government  ordered  to  be  performed  in 
all  the  churches  of  England.  All  her  subjects  were  required  to 
accept  the  queen's  views  and  to  go  to  church,  and  ministers 
were  to  use  nothing  but  the  official  prayer  book.  Elizabeth  did 
not  adopt  the  Presbyterian  system  advocated  by  Calvin  but 
retained  many  features  of  the  Catholic  church,  including  the 
bishops  and  archbishops.  So  the  Anglican  church  followed  a" 
middle  path  halfway  between  Lutherans  and  Calvinists  on  the 
one  hand  and  Catholics  on  the  other. 

The  Catholic  churchmen  who  had  held  positions  under  Queen 
Mary  were  naturally  dismissed  and  replaced  by  those  who  would 
obey  Elizabeth  and  use  her  Book  of  Prayer.  Her  first  Parlia- 
ment gave  the  sovereign  the  powe7's  of  supreme  head  of  the 
Church  of  England,  although  the  title,  which  her  father,  Henry 
VIII,  had  assumed,  was  not  revived. 

The  Church  of  England  still  exists  in  much  the  same  form  in   The  EngUsh 
which  it  was  established  in  the  first  years  of  Elizabeth's  reign  and   survives  in 
the  prayer  book  is  still  used,  although  Englishmen  are  no  longer  jQ^m"^'"^^ 
required  to  attend  church  and  may  hold  any  religious  views  they 
please  without  being  interfered  with  by  the  government. 


640 


Outlines  of  Eitropea7i  History 


Presbyterian 
Church 
established 
in  Scotland 


While  England  adopted  a  middle  course  in  religious  matters 
Scotland  became  Presbyterian,  and  this  led  to  much  trouble  for 
Elizabeth.  There,  shortly  after  her  accession,  the  ancient  Cath- 
olic Church  was  abolished,  for  the  nobles  were  anxious  to  get 


.mr  ■■:....      \ 

^Hp '' 

■ 

hM--'^!"^^^    -'     ' 

n 

^|■^,    ' 

Fig.  221.    Portrait  of  Queen  Elizabeth 

Elizabeth,  the  first  woman  to  rule  England,   deemed   herself  a  very 

handsome  and  imposing  person.     She  was  fond  of  fine   clothes  and 

doubtless  had  on  her  best  when  she  sat  for  her  portrait 


the  lands  of  the  bishops  into  their  own  hands  and  enjoy  the 
revenue  from  them.  John  Knox,  a  veritable  second  Calvin  in  his 
stern  energy,  secured  the  introduction  of  the  Presbyterian  form 
of  faith  and  church  government  which  still  prevail  in  Scotland. 


The  Wars  of  Religion  641 

In  1 56 1  the  Scotch  queen,  Mary  Stuart,  whose  French  hus-   Mar>' Stuart, 
band,  Francis  II,  had  just  died,  landed  at  Leith.    She  was  but  quee'n,"^''^ 
nineteen  years  old,  of  s^reat  beauty  and  charm,  and,  by  reason   becomes  the 
of  her  Catholic  faith  and  French  training,  almost  a  foreigner  to   Catholics 
her  subjects.    Her  grandmother  was  a  sister  of  Henry  VIII, 
and   Mary  claimed  to  be  the  rightful  heiress  to  the   English 
throne  should  Elizabeth  die  childless.    Consequently  the  beau- 
tiful Queen  of  Scots  became  the  hope  of  all  those  who  wished 
to  bring  back  England  and  Scotland  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith.    Chief  among  these  were  Philip  II  of  Spain  and  Mary's 
relatiyes  the  Guises  in  France. 

Mary  quickly  discredited  herself  with  both  Protestants  and    Marj-'s 
Catholics  by  her  conduct.    After  marrying  her  second  cousin,    conduct"^ 
Lord  Darnley,  she  discovered  that  he  was  a  dissolute  scape- 
grace and  came  to  despise  him.    She  then  formed  an  attach- 
ment  for  a  reckless  nobleman   named   Bothwell.    Hie   house 
near  Edinburgh  in  which  Darnley  was  lying  ill  was  blown  up 
one  night  with  gunpowder,  and  he  was  killed.    The  public  sus- 
pected that  both  Bothwell  and  the  queen  were  implicated.    How 
far  Mary  was  responsible  for  her  husband's  death  no  one  can 
be  sure.    It  is  certain  that  she  later  married  Bothwell  and  that 
her  indignant  subjects  thereupon  deposed  her  as  a  murderess. 
After  fruitless  attempts  to  regain  her  power,  she  abdicated  in    Mary  flees 
favor  of  her  infant  son,  James  A^I,  and  then  fled  to  England  to   ^^",  England, 
appeal  to  Elizabeth.    W'hile  the  prudent  Elizabeth  denied  the 
right  of  the  Scotch  to  depose  their  queen,  she  took  good  care 
to  keep  her  rival  practically  a  prisoner. 

As  time  went  on  it  became  increasingly  difficult  for  Elizabeth   The  rising  in 
to  adhere  to  her  policy  of  moderation  in  the  treatment  of  the    1-5^  and  the 
Catholics.    A  rising  in  the  north  of  England  (1569)  showed   ^i^^^g^f^j. 
that  there  were  many  who  would  gladly  reestablish  the  Catholic   deposing 
faith  by  freeing  Mary  and  placing  her  on  the  English  throne. 
This  was  followed  by  the  excommunication  of  Elizabeth  by  the 
Pope,  who  at  the  same  time  absolved  her  subjects  from  their 
allegiance  to  their  heretical  ruler.     Happily  for  Elizabeth  the 


642 


Outlines  of  Einvpeaii  History 


English 

mariners 

capture 

Spanish 

ships 


Relations 
between 
England  and 
Catholic 
Ireland 


rebels  could  look  for  no  help  either  from  Philip  II  or  the  French 
king.  The  Spaniards  had  their  hands  full,  for  the  war  in  the 
Netherlands  had  just  begun  ;  and  Charles  IX,  who  had  accepted 
Coligny  as  his  adviser,  was  at  that  moment  in  hearty  accord 
with  the  Huguenots.  The  rising  in  the  north  was  suppressed, 
but  the  English  Catholics  continued  to  look  to  Philip  for  help. 
They  opened  correspondence  with  Alva  and  invited  him  to 
come  with  six  thousand  Spanish  troops  to  dethrone  Elizabeth 
and  make  Mary  Stuart  queen  of  England  in  her  stead.  Alva 
hesitated,  for  he  characteristically  thought  that  it  would  be  better 
to  kill  Elizabeth,  or  at  least  capture  her.  Meanwhile  the  plot 
was  discovered  and  came  to  naught. 

Although  Philip  found  himself  unable  to  harm  England,  the 
English  mariners  caused  great  loss  to  Spain.  In  spite  of  the 
fact  that  Spain  and  England  were  not  openly  at  war,  Elizabeth's 
seamen  extended  their  operations  as  far  as  the  West  Indies, 
and  seized  Spanish  treasure  ships,  with  the  firm  conviction  that 
in  robbing  Philip  they  were  serving  God.  The  daring  Sir  Francis 
Drake  even  ventured  into  the  Pacific,  where  only  the  Spaniards 
had  gone  heretofore,  and  carried  off  much  booty  on  his  little 
vessel,  the  Pelican.  At  last  he  took  "  a  great  vessel  with  jewels 
in  plenty,  thirteen  chests  of  silver  coin,  eighty  pounds  weight  of 
gold,  and  twenty-six  tons  of  silver."  He  then  sailed  around  the 
world,  and  on  his  return  presented  his  jewels  to  Elizabeth,  who 
paid  little  attention  to  the  expostulations  of  the  king  of  Spain. 

One  hope  of  the  Catholics  has  not  yet  been  mentioned, 
namely,  Ireland,  whose  relations  with  England  from  very  early 
times  down  to  the  present  day  form  one  of  the  most  cheerless 
pages  in  the  history  of  Europe.  The  population  was  divided 
into  numerous  clans,  and  their  chieftains  fought  constantly  with 
one  another  as  well  as  with  the  English,  who  were  vainly 
endeavoring  to  subjugate  the  island.  Under  Henr)'  II  and 
later  kings  England  had  conquered  a  district  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Ireland,  and  here  the  English  managed  to  maintain  a 
foothold   in   spite  of   the  anarchy  outside.     Henry   VIII   had 


TJie  Wars  of  Religion  643 

suppressed  a  revolt  of  the  Irish  and  assumed  the  title  of  king  of 
Ireland.  Queen  Mary  of  England  had  hoped  to  promote  better 
relations  by  colonizing  Kings  County  and  Queens  County  with 
Englishmen.  This  led,  however,  to  a  long  struggle  which  only 
ended  when  the  colonists  had  killed  all  the  natives  in  the  district 
they  occupied. 

Elizabeth's  interest  in  the  perennial  Irish  question  was  stim- 
ulated by  the  probability  that  Ireland  might  become  a  basis  for 
Catholic  operations,  since  Protestantism  had  made  little  progress 
among  its  people.  Her  fears  were  realized.  Several  attempts 
were  made  by  Catholic  leaders  to  land  troops  in  Ireland  with  the 
purpose  of  making  the  island  the  base  for  an  attack  on  England. 
Elizabeth's  officers  were  able  to  frustrate  these  enterprises,  but 
the  resulting  disturbances  greatly  increased  the  miser)^  of  the 
Irish.  In  1582  no  less  than  thirty  thousand  people  are  said  to 
have  perished,  chiefly  from  starvation. 

As  Philip's  troops  began  to  get  the  better  of  the  opposition    Persecution 
in  the  southern  Netherlands,  the  prospect  of  sending  a  Spanish   EngHsh 
army  to  England  grew  brighter.    Two  Jesuits  were  sent  to  Eng-   Catholics 
land  in  1580  to  strengthen  the  adherents  of  their  faith  and  urge 
them  to  assist  the  foreign  force  against  their  queen  when  it  should 
come.    Parliament  now  grew  more  intolerant  and  ordered  fines 
and  imprisonment  to  be  inflicted  on  those  who  said  or  heard 
mass,  or  who  refused  to  attend  the  English  services.    One  of 
the   Jesuit   emissaries   was   cruelly   tortured    and   executed  for 
treason,  the  other  escaped  to  the  Continent. 

In  the  spring  of  1582  the  first  attempt  by  the  Catholics  to  Plans  to 
assassinate  the  heretical  queen  was  made  at  Philip's  instigation.  EUzab^th^ 
It  was  proposed  that,  when  Elizabeth  was  out  of  the  way,  the 
Duke  of  Guise  should  see  that  an  army  was  sent  to  England  in 
the  interest  of  the  Catholics.  But  Guise  was  kept  busy  at  home 
by  the  War  of  the  Three  Henrys,  and  Philip  was  left  to  under- 
take the  invasion  of-  England  by  himself. 

Mary  Queen  of  Scots  did  not  live  to  witness  the  attempt. 
She  became  implicated  in  another  plot  for  the  assassination  of 


644 


Outlines  of  Europca7i  Histo7y 


Execution  of 
Mary  Queen 
of  Scots, 
1587 


Destruction 
of  the 
Spanish 


Armada, 


;88 


Elizabeth.  Parliament  now  realized  that  as  long  as  Mary  lived 
Elizabeth's  life  was  in  constant  danger ;  whereas,  if  Mary  were 
out  of  the  way,  Philip  II  would  have  no  interest  in  the  death 
of  Elizabeth,  since  Mary's  son,  James  VI  of  Scotland,  who 
would  succeed  Elizabeth  on  the  English  throne,  was  a  Protestant. 
Elizabeth  was  therefore  reluctantly  persuaded  by  her  advisers 
to  sign  a  warrant  for  Mary's  execution  in  1587. 

Philip  II,  however,  by  no  means  gave  up  his  project  of  re- 
claiming Protestant  England.  In  1588  he  brought  together  a 
great  fleet,  including  his  best  and  largest  warships,  which  vs^as 
proudly  called  by  the  Spaniards  the  "Invincible  Armada"  (that 
is,  fleet).  This  was  to  sail  through  the  English  Channel  to  the 
Netherlands  and  bring  over  the  Duke  of  Parma  and  his  veterans, 
who,  it  was  expected,  would  soon  make  an  end  of  Elizabeth's 
raw  militia.  The  English  ships  were  inferior  to  those  of  Spain  in 
size  although  not  in  number,  but  they  had  trained  commanders, 
such  as  Francis  Drake  and  Hawkins. 

These  famous  captains  had  long  sailed  the  Spanish  Main  and 
knew  how  to  use  their  cannon  without  getting  near  enough  to 
the  Spaniards  to  suffer  from  their  short-range  weapons.  When 
the  Armada  approached,  it  was  permitted  by  the  English  fleet 
to  pass  up  the  Channel  before  a  strong  wind,  which  later  became 
a  storm.  The  English  ships  then  followed,  and  both  fleets  were 
driven  past  the  coast  of  Flanders.  Of  the  hundred  and  twenty 
Spanish  ships,  only  fifty-four  returned  home ;  the  rest  had  been 
destroyed  by  English  valor  or  by  the  gale  to  which  Elizabeth 
herself  ascribed  the  victory.  The  defeat  of  the  Armada  put  an 
end  to  the  danger  from  Spain. 


Prospects  of 
the  Catholic 
cause  at  the 
opening  of 
the  reign  of 
Philip  II 


As  we  look  back  over  the  period  covered  by  the  reign  of 
Philip  II,  it  is  clear  that  it  was  a  most  notable  one  in  the  history 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  When  he  ascended  the  throne  in  1556 
Germany,  as  well  as  Switzerland  and  the  ^Netherlands,  had  be- 
come largely  Protestant.  England,  however,  under  his  Catholic 
wife,  Mary,  seemed  to  be  turning  back  to  the  old  religion,  while 


The  Wars  of  Religion  645 

the  French  monarchs  showed  no  inclination  to  tolerate  the  heret- 
ical Calvinists.  Moreover,  the  new  and  enthusiastic  order  of 
the  Jesuits  promised  to  be  a  powerful  agency  in  inducing  the 
Protestants  to  accept  once  more  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope 
and  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church  as  formulated  by  the 
Council  of  Trent.  The  tremendous  power  and  apparently 
boundless  resources  of  Spain  itself,  which  were  viewed  by  the 
rest  of  Europe  with  terror,  Philip  was  prepared  to  dedicate  to 
the  destruction  of  Protestantism  throughout  western  Europe. 

But  when  Philip  II  died  in  1598  all  was  changed.  England  Outcome  of 
was  hopelessly  Protestant :  the  "  Invincible  Armada  "  had  been  po/j^y  ^ 
miserably  wrecked  and  Philip's  plan  for  bringing  England  once 
more  within  the  fold  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  was  for- 
ever frustrated.  In  France  the  terrible  wars  of  religion  were 
over,  and  a  powerful  king,  lately  a  Protestant  himself,  was  on 
the  throne,  who  not  only  tolerated  the  Protestants  but  chose 
one  of  them  for  his  chief  minister  and  would  brook  no  more 
meddling  of  Spain  in  French  affairs.  A  new  Protestant  state,  the 
United  Netherlands,  had  actually  appeared  within  the  bounds 
of  the  realm  bequeathed  to  Philip  by  his  father.  In  spite  of  its 
small  size  this  state  was  destined  to  play,  from  that  time  on, 
quite  as  important  a  part  in  European  affairs  as  the  harsh 
Spanish  stepmother  from  whose  control  it  had  escaped. 

Spain  itself  had  suffered  most  of  all  from  Philip's  reign.    His   Decline  of 
domestic  policy  and  his  expensive  wars  had  sadly  weakened  the  th?sixtee^nth 
country.    The  income  from  across  the  sea  was  bound  to  decrease  ^^^^ury 
as  the  mines  were  exhausted.    The  final  expulsion  of  the  in- 
dustrious Moors,  shortly  after  Philip's  death  (see  above,  p.  566), 
left  the  indolent  Spaniards  to  till  their  own  fields,  which  rapidly 
declined  in  fertility  under  their  careless  cultivation.    Some  one 
once  ventured  to  tell  a  Spanish  king  that  "  not  gold  and  silver  » 

but  sweat  is  the  most  precious  metal,  a  coin  which  is  always 
current  and  never  depreciates  "  ;  but  it  was  a  rare  form  of  cur- 
rency in  the  Spanish  peninsula.  After  Philip  IPs  death  Spain 
sank  to  the  rank  of  a  secondary  European  power.. 


646 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Section   113.  The  Thirty  Years'  War 


The  Thirty 
Years"  War 
really  a 
series  of 
wars 


\Yeaknesses 
of  the  Peace 
of  Augsburg 


Spread  of 
Protestant- 


Opening  of 
the  Thirty 
Years'  ^\ar, 
1618 


The  last  great  conflict  caused  by  the  differences  between  the 
Catholics  and  Protestants  was  fought  out  in  Germany  during 
the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  is  generally  known 
as  the  Thirty  Years'  War  (16 18-1648),  but  there  was  in  reality 
a  series  of  wars ;  and  although  the  fighting  was  done  upon 
German  territory,  Sweden,  France,  and  Spain  played  quite  as 
important  a  part  in  the  struggle  as  the  various  German  states. 

Just  before  the  abdication  of  Charles  Y,  the  Lutheran  princes 
had  forced  the  Emperor  to  acknowledge  their  right  to  their  own 
religion  and  to  the  church  property  which  they  had  appropriated. 
The  religious  Peace  of  Augsburg  had,  however,  as  we  have 
seen,^  two  great  weaknesses.  In  the  first  place  only  those 
Protestants  who  held  the  Lutheran  faith  were  to  be  tolerated. 
The  Calvinists,  who  were  increasing  in  numbers,  were  not  in- 
cluded in  the  peace.  In  the  second  place  the  peace  did  not 
put  a  stop  to  the  seizure  of  church  property  by  the  Protestant 
princes. 

Protestantism,  however,  made  rapid  progress  and  invaded  the 
Austrian  possessions  and,  above  all,  Bohemia.  So  it  looked  for 
a  time  as  if  even  the  Catholic  Hapsburgs  were  to  see  large  por- 
tions of  their  territory  falling  away  from  the  old  Church.  But 
the  Catholics  had  in  the  Jesuits  a  band  of  active  and  efficient 
missionaries.  They  not  only  preached  and  founded  schools,  but 
also  succeeded  in  gaining  the  confidence  of  some  of  the  German 
princes,  whose  chief  advisers  they  became.  Conditions  were 
very  favorable,  at  the  opening  of  the  seventeenth  century,  for  a 
renewal  of  the  religious  struggle. 

The  long  war  began  in  Bohemia  in  i6t8.  This  portion  of 
the  Austrian  possessions  was  strongly  Protestant  and  decided 
that  the  best  policy  was  to  declare  its  independence  of  the  Haps- 
burgs and  set  up  a  king  of  its  own.  It  chose  Frederick,  the 
Elector  of  the  Palatinate,  a  Calvinist  who  would,  it  was  hoped, 

1  See  above,  p.  603. 


TJie  WiD's  of  Religion 


647 


enjoy  the  support  of  his  father-in-law.  King  James  I  of  England.^ 
So  Frederick  and  his  English  wife  moved  from  Heidelberg 
to  Prague.  But  their  stay  there  was  brief,  for  the  Hapsburg 
Emperor  (Ferdinand  ID  with  the  aid  of  the  ruler  of  Bavaria  put 
to  flight  the  poor  "  winter  king,"  as  Frederick  was  called  on 
account  of  his  reign  of  a  single  season. 

This  was  regarded  as  a  serious  defeat  by  the  Protestants, 
and  the  Protestant  king  of  Denmark  decided  to  intervene.  He 
remained  in  Germany  for  four  years  but  was  so  badly  beaten  by 
the  Emperor's  able  general,  Wallenstein,  that  he  retired  from 
the  conflict  in  1629. 

The  Emperor  was  encouraged  by  the  successes  of  the  Catho- 
lic armies  in  defeating  the  Bohemian  and  Danish  Protestant 
armies  to  issue  that  same  year  an  Edict  of  Restitution.  In  this 
he  ordered  the  Protestants  throughout  Germany  to  give  back 
all  the  church  possessions  which  they  had  seized  since  the  reli- 
gious Peace  of  Augsburg  (1555).  These  included  two  arch- 
bishoprics (Magdeburg  and  Bremen),  nine  bishoprics,  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  monasteries,  and  other  church  foundations. 
Moreover,  he  decreed  that  only  the  Lutherans  might  hold  re- 
ligious meetings;  the  other  "sects,"  including  the  Calvinists, 
were  to  be  broken  up.  As  Wallenstein  was  preparing  to  exe- 
cute this  decree  in  his  usual  merciless  fashion,  the  war  took  a 
new  turn. 

The  Catholic  League,  which  had  been  formed  some  time  be- 
fore, had  become  jealous  of  a  general  who  threatened  to  become 
too  powerful,  and  it  accordingly  joined  in  the  complaints,  which 
came  from  every  side,  of  the  terrible  extortions  and  incredible 
cruelty  practiced  by  Wallenstein 's  troops.  The  Emperor  con- 
sented, therefore,  to  dismiss  this  most  competent  commander. 
Just  as  the  Catholics  were  thus  weakened,  a  new  enemy  ar- 
rived upon  the  scene  who  proved  far  more  dangerous  than 
any  they  had  yet  had  to  face,  namely  Gustavus  Adolphus, 
king  of  Sweden. 

1  James  VI  of  Scotland  who  succeeded  Queen  Elizabeth  in  1603. 


Denmark 
interv^enes 


The  Edict  of 

Restitution, 

1629 


Dismissal  of 
Wallenstein  ; 
appearance 
of  Gustavus 
Adolphus  of 
Sweden, 
1594-1632 


648 


Outlines  of  Ilni'opcaii  Ilistojy 


The  kingdom 
of  Sweden 


(iustavus 
\'asa,  1523- 
i;6o 


Motives  of 

Gustavus 

Adolphus  in 

invading 

Germany, 

1630 


Destruction 
of  Magde- 
burg, 1631 


Gustavus 
Adolphus 
victorious  at 
Breitenfeld, 
1631 


We  have  had  no  occasion  hitherto  to  speak  of  the  Scandinavian 
kingdoms  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark,  which  the  northern 
German  peoples  had  established  about  Charlemagne's  time  ;  but 
from  now  on  they  begin  to  take  part  in  the  affairs  of  central 
Europe.  The  Union  of  Calmar  (1397)  had  brought  these  three 
kingdoms,  previously  separate,  under  a  single  ruler.  About  the 
time  that  the  Protestant  revolt  began  in  Germany  the  union  was 
broken  by  the  withdrawal  of  Sweden,  which  became  an  independ- 
ent kingdom.  Gustavus  Vasa,  a  Swedish  noble,  led  the  move- 
ment and  was  subsequently  chosen  king  of  Sweden  (1523).  In 
the  same  year  Protestantism  was  introduced.  Vasa  confiscated 
the  church  lands,  got  the  better  of  the  aristocracy,  —  who  had 
formerly  made  the  kings  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  —  and  started 
Sweden  on  its  way  toward  national  greatness. 

Gustavus  Adolphus  (159 4- 163 2)  was  induced  to  invade 
Germany  for  two  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  he  was  a  sincere 
and  enthusiastic  Protestant  and  by  far  the  most  generous  and 
attractive  figure  of  his  time.  He  was  genuinely  afHicted  by  the 
misfortunes  of  his  Protestant  brethren  and  anxious  to  devote 
himself  to  their  w^elfare.  Secondly,  he  undoubtedly  hoped  by 
his  invasion  not  only  to  free  his  fellow  Protestants  from  the 
oppression  of  the  Emperor  and  of  the  Catholic  League,  but 
to  gain  a  strip  of  German  territory  for  Sweden. 

Gustavus  was  not'  received  with  much  cordiality  at  first  by 
the  Protestant  princes  of  the  north,  but  they  were  brought  to 
their  senses  by  the  awful  destruction  of  Magdeburg  by  the  troops 
of  the  Catholic  League  under  General  Tilly.  Magdeburg  was 
the  most  important  town  of  northern  Germany.  When  it  finally 
succumbed  after  an  obstinate  and  difficult  siege,  twenty  thousand 
of  its  inhabitants  were  killed  and  the  town  burned  to  the  ground. 
Although  Tilly's  reputation  for  cruelty  is  quite  equal  to  that  of 
Wallenstein,  he  was  probably  not  responsible  for  the  fire.  After 
Gustavus  Adolphus  had  met  Tilly  near  Leipsic  and  victoriously 
routed  the  army  of  the  League,  the  Protestant  princes  began  to 
look  with  more  favor  on  the  foreigner. 


TJic  Wars  of  Religion  649 

The  next  spring  Gustavus  entered   Bavaria  and  once  more   Wallenstein 
defeated  Tilly  (who  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  battle)  and   ^^^^  ^ 
forced  Munich  to  surrender.    There  seemed  now  to  be  no  rea- 
son why  he  should  not  continue  his  progress  to  Vienna.    At 
this  juncture  the  Emperor  recalled  Wallenstein,  who  collected  a 
new  army  over  which  he  was  given  absolute  command.    After 
some  delay  Gustavus  met  Wallenstein  on  the  field  of  Liitzen,   Gustavus 
in  November,  1632,  where,  after  a  fierce  struggle,  the  Swedes   kuied'ar 
gained  the  victory.    But  they  lost  their  leader  and  Protestantism   Liitzen,  1632 
its  hero,  for  the  Swedish  king  ventured  too  far  into  the  lines  of 
the  enemy  and  was  surrounded  and  killed. 

The  Swedes  did  not,  however,  retire  from  Germany,  but  Murder  of 
continued  to  participate  in  the  war,  which  now  degenerated 
into  a  series  of  raids  by  leaders  whose  soldiers  depopulated 
the  land  by  their  unspeakable  atrocities.  Wallenstein,  who 
had  long  been  detested  by  even  the  Catholics,  was  deserted 
by  his  soldiers  and  murdered  (in  1634),  to  the  great  relief 
of  all  parties. 

Just  at  this  moment  Richelieu  ^  decided  that  it  would  be  to   Richelieu 
the  interest  of  France  to  renew  the  old  struggle  with  the  Haps-   stnf^le  o^f 
burgs  by  sending  troops  against  the  Emperor.    France  was  still   France 
shut  in,  as  she  had  been  since  the  time  of  Charles  V,  by  the   Hapsburgs 
Hapsburg  lands.     Except  on  the  side  toward   the  ocean   her 
boundaries  were  in  the  main  artificial  ones,  and  not  those  estab- 
lished by  great  rivers  and  mountains.    She  therefore  longed  to 
weaken  her  enemy  and  strengthen  herself  by  winning  Roussillon 
on  the  south,  and  so  make  the  crest  of  the  Pyrenees  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  France  and  Spain.    She  dreamed,  too,  of  ex- 
tending her  sway  toward  the  Rhine  by  adding  the  county  of  Bur- 
gundy (that  is,  Franche-Comte)  and  a  number  of  fortified  towns 
which  would  afford  protection  against  the  Spanish  Netherlands. 

Richelieu  declared  war  against  Spain  in  May,  1635.    ^^  ^^^   Richelieu's 
already  concluded  an  alliance  with  the  chief   enemies  of  the   prolongs'^*°" 
house   of    Austria.     So    the    war    was    renewed,   and    French,   ^^^  "^^^ 

1  See  above,  p.  638. 


650 


Outliiics  of  European  History 


Swedish,  Spanish,  and  German  soldiers  ravaged  an  already 
exhausted  country  for  a  decade  longer.  I'he  dearth  of  provi- 
sions was  so  great  that  the  armies  had  to  move  quickly  from 
place  to  place  in  order  to  avoid  starvation.  After  a  serious  de- 
feat by  the  Swedes,  the  Emperor  (Ferdinand  III,  1637-1657) 


Fig.  222.   Portrait  of  Cardinal  Richelieu,  from  a 
Contemporaneous  Painting 


France  suc- 
ceeds Spain 
in  the 
military 
supremacy 
of  western 
Europe 


sent  a  Dominican  monk  to  expostulate  with  Cardinal  Richelieu 
for  his  crime  in  aiding  the  German  and  Swedish  heretics  against 
Catholic  Austria. 

The  cardinal  had,  however,  just  died  (December,  1642), 
well  content  with  the  results  of  his  diplomacy.  The  French 
were  in  possession  of  Roussillon  and  of  Lorraine  and  Alsace. 
The  military  exploits  of  the  French  generals,  especially  Turenne 
and  Conde',  during  the  opening  years  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV 


TJie  Wars  of  Religion  651 

(1643-17 15),  showed  that  a  new  period  had  begun  in  which 
the  military  and  political  supremacy  of  Spain  was  to  give  way 
to  that  of  France  (see  Chapter  XXVIII). 

The  participants  in  the  war  were  now  so  numerous  and  their  Close  of  the 
objects  so  various  and  conflicting  that  it  is  not  strange  that  it  \va"^64r'^^ 
required  some  years  to  arrange  the  conditions  of  peace,  even 
after  every  one  was  ready  for  it.  It  was  agreed  (1644)  that 
France  and  the  Empire  should  negotiate  at  Miinster,  and  the 
Emperor  and  the  Swedes  at  Osnabriick  —  both  of  which  towns 
lie  in  Westphalia.  For  four  years  the  representatives  of  the 
several  powers  worked  upon  the  difficult  problem  of  satisfying 
every  one,  but  at  last  the  treaties  of  Westphalia  were  signed 
late  in  1648. 

The  religious  troubles  in  Germany  were  settled  by  extending   Provisions 
the  toleration  of  the  Peace  of  Augsburg  so  as  to  include   the   treaties  of 
Calvinists  as  well  as  the   Lutherans.    The  Protestant  princes   ^^'estphaha 
were  to  retain  the  lands  which  they  had  in  their  possession  in 
the  year  1624,  regardless  of  the  Edict  of  Restitution,  and  each 
ruler  was  still  to  have  the  right  to  determine  the  religion  of  his 
state.    The  dissolution  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  was  practi- 
cally acknowledged  by  permitting  the  individual  states  to  make 
treaties  among  themselves  and  with  foreign  powers ;  this  was 
equivalent  to  recognizing  the  practical  independence  which  they 
had,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  already  long  enjoyed.    While  portions 
of  northern  Germany  were  ceded  to  Sweden,  this  territory  did 
not  cease  to  form  a  part  of  the  Empire,  for  Sweden  was  thereafter 
to  have  three  votes  in  the  German  diet. 

The  Emperor  also  ceded  to  France  three  important  towns  — 
Metz,  Verdun,  and  Toul  —  and  all  his  rights  in  Alsace,  although 
the  city  of  Strassburg  was  to  remain  with  the  Empire.  Lastly,  the 
independence  both  of  the  United  Netherlands  and  of  Switzer- 
land was  acknowledged. 

The  accounts  of  the  misery  and  depopulation  of  Germany  Disastrous 
caused  by  the  Thirty  Years'  War  are  well-nigh  incredible,  the  war  in 
Thousands  of  villages   were    wiped   out   altogether ;  in    some   ^^^^many 


652 


Outlines  of  European  History 


regions  the  population  was  reduced  by  one  half,  in  others  to 
a  third,  or  even  less,  of  what  it  had  been  at  the  opening  of  the 
conflict.  The  flourishing  city  of  Augsburg  was  left  with  but 
sixteen  thousand  souls  instead  of  eighty  thousand.  The  people 
were  fearfully  barbarized  by  privation  and  suffering  and  by  the 
atrocities  of  the  soldiers  of  all  the  various  nations.  Until  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  Germany  remained  too  exhausted 
and  impoverished  to  make  any  considerable  contribution  to  the 
culture  of  Europe. 


The  new 
science 


The  dis- 
covery of 
Copernicus 


Section  114.  The  Beginnings  of  our  Scientific  Age 

The  battles  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  are  now  well-nigh  forgot, 
and  few  people  are  interested  in  Tilly  and  Wallenstein  and  Gus- 
tavus  Adolphus.  It  seems  as  if  the  war  did  little  but  destroy 
men's  lives  and  property,  and  that  no  great  ends  were  accom- 
plished by  all  the  suffering  it  involved.  But  during  the  years 
that  it  raged  certain  men  were  quietly  devoting  themselves  to 
scientific  research  which  was  to  change  the  world  more  than  all 
the  battles  that  have  ever  been  fought.  These  men  adopted  a 
new  method.  They  perceived  that  the  books  of  ancient  writers, 
especially  Aristotle,  which  were  used  as  textbooks  in  the  univer- 
sities, were  full  of  statements  that  could  not  be  proved.  They 
maintained  that  the  only  way  to  advance  science  was  to  set  to 
work  and  try  experiments,  and  by  careful  thought  and  investi- 
gation to  determine  the  laws  of  nature  without  regard  to  what 
previous  generations  had  thought. 

The  Polish  astronomer  Copernicus  published  a  work  in 
1543  in  which  he  refuted  the  old  idea  that  the  sun  and  all  the 
stars  revolved  around  the  earth  as  a  center,  as  was  then  taught 
in  all  the  universities.  He  showed  that,  on  the  contrary,  the 
sun  was  the  center  about  which  the  earth  and  the  rest  of  the 
planets  revolved,  and  that  the  reason  that  the  stars  seem  to  go 
around  the  earth  each  day  is  because  our  globe  revolves  on  its 
axis.    Although  Copernicus  had  been  encouraged  to  write  his 


The  Wars  of  Religion  653 

book  by  a  cardinal  and  had  dedicated  it  to  the  Pope,  the  Catholic 
as  well  as  the  Protestant  theologians  declared  that  the  new  theory- 
did  not  correspond  with  the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  and  they 
therefore  rejected  it.    But  we  know  now  that  Copernicus  was 


Fig.  223.    Galileo 

right  and  the  theologians  and  universities  wrong.  The  earth  is 
a  mere  speck  in  the  universe  and  even  the  sun  is  a  relatively 
small  body  compared  with  many  of  the  stars,  and  so  far  as  we 
know  the  universe  as  a  whole  has  no  center. 

The  Italian  scientist  Galileo  (i 564-1 642),  by  the  use  of  a   Galileo 
little  telescope  he  contrived,  was  able  in  16 10  to  see  the  spots 


654 


Outlines  of  European  History 


on  the  sun ;  these  indicated  that  the  sun  was  not,  as  Aristotle 
had  taught,  a  perfect,  unchanging  body,  and  showed  also  that 
it  revolved  on  its  axis,  as  Copernicus  had  guessed  that  the  earth 
did.    Galileo  made  careful  experiments  by  dropping  objects  from 


Fig.  224.    Rene  Descartes 

the  leaning  tower  of  Pisa  (Fig.  170),  which  proved  that  Aristotle 
was  wrong  in  assuming  that  a  body  weighing  a  hundred  pounds 
fell  a  hundred  times  as  fast  as  a  body  weighing  but  one.  To 
Galileo  we  owe,  besides,  many  new  ideas  in  the  science  of  me- 
chanics. He  wrote  in  Italian  as  well  as  Latin,  and  this,  too,  gave 
offense  to  those  who  pinned  their  faith  to  Aristotle.    They  would 


The  Wars  of  Religion  655 

have  forgiven  Galileo  if  he  had  confined  his  discussions  to  the 
learned  who  could  read  Latin,  but  they  thought  it  highly  dan- 
gerous to  have  the  new  ideas  set  forth  in  such  a  way  that  the 
people  at  large  might  find  out  about  them  and  so  come  to  doubt 
what  the  theologians  and  universities  were  teaching.  Galileo 
was  finally  summoned  before  the  Inquisition  and  some  of  his 
theories  condemned  by  the  church  authorities. 

Just  as  the  Thirty  Years'  War  was  beginning,  a  young  French-  Descartes 
man  by  the  name  of  Descartes  had  finished  his  education  at  a 
Jesuit  college  and  decided  to  get  some  knowledge  of  the  w^orld 
by  going  into  the  war  for  a  short  time.  He  did  much  more 
thinking  than  fighting,  however.  Sitting  by  the  stove  during  the 
winter  lull  in  hostilities,  deep  in  meditation,  it  occurred  to  him 
one  day  that  he  had  no  reason  for  believing  anything.  He  saw 
that  everything  that  he  accepted  had  come  to  him  on  the  authority 
of  some  one  else,  and  he  failed  to  see  any  reason  why  the  old 
authorities  should  be  right.  So  he  boldly  set  to  work  to  think 
out  a  wholly  new  philosophy  that  should  be  entirely  the  result 
of  his  own  reasoning.  He  decided,  in  the  first  place,  that  one 
thing  at  least  was  true.  He  was  f/ii?iki?ig,  and  therefore  he  must 
exist.  This  he  expressed  in  Latin  in  the  famous  phrase  Cogifo, 
ergo  sum,  "  I  think,  therefore  I  am."  He  also  decided  that  God 
must  exist  and  that  He  had  given  men  such  good  minds  that,  if 
they  only  used  them  ca?'efi(IIy,  they  would  not  be  deceived  in 
the  conclusions  they  reached.  In  short,  Descartes  held  that  dear 
thoughts  must  be  true  thoughts. 

Descartes  not  only  founded  modern  philosophy,  he  was  also  Work  of 
greatly  interested  in  science  and  mathematics.  He  was  impressed 
by  the  wonderful  discovery  of  Harvey  in  regard  to  the  circulation 
of  the  blood  (see  below,  p.  661),  which  he  thought  well  illustrated 
what  scientific  investigation  might  accomplish.  His  most  famous 
book,  called  An  Essay  011  Method,  was  written  in  French  and 
addressed  to  intelligent  men  who  did  not  know  Latin.  He  says 
that  those  who  use  their  own  heads  are  much  more  likely  to 
reach  the  truth  than  those  who  read  old  Latin  books.    Descartes 


Descartes 


656 


Outlines  of  European  History 


wrote  clear  textbooks  on  algebra  and  that  branch  of  mathematics 

known  as  analytical  geometry,  of  which  he  was  the  discoverer. 

Francis  Bacon,  an  English  lawyer  and  government  official, 

spent  his  spare  hours  explaining  how  men  could  increase  their 


iihii  S'lCi'-CoinrS  ^' ^O.'injrit    IHort tJtti    O^// 


Fig 


Fraxcis  Bacon 


Francis  knowledge.   He  too  wrote  in  his  native  tongue  as  well  as  m  Latin. 

Bacon's  tt  1  1  .  ^     , 

New  Atlantis  FLe  was  the  most  eloquent  representative  of  the  new  science 
which  renounced  authority  and  relied  upon  expe?'imefit.  "  We 
are  the  ancients,"  he  declared,  not  those  who  lived  long  ago 
when  the  world  was  young  and  men  ignorant.  Late  in  life 
he   wrote   a   little   book,   which   he   never  finished,   called   the 


societies 
founded 


The  PVars  of  Religion  657 

New  Atlafitis.  It  describes  an  imaginaty  state  which  some  Euro- 
peans were  supposed  to  have  come  upon  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  chief  institution  was  a  "  House  of  Solomon,"  a  great 
laboratory  for  carrying  on  scientific  investigatipn  in  the  hope  of 
discovering  new  facts  and  using  them  for  bettering  the  condi- 
tion of  the  inhabitants.  This  House  of  Solomon  became  a  sort 
of  model  for  the  Royal  Academy,  which  was  established  in 
London  some  fifty  years  after  Bacon's  death.  It  still  exists  and 
still  publishes  its  proceedings  regularly. 

The  earliest  societies  for  scientific  research  grew  up  in  Italy.  Scientific 
Later  the  English  Royal  Society  and  the  French  Institute  were 
established,  as  well  as  similar  associations  in  Germany.  These 
were  the  first  things  of  the  kind  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
Their  object  was  not,  like  that  of  the  old  Greek  schools  of 
philosophy  and  the  medieval  universities,  merely  to  hand  down 
the  knowledge  derived  from  the  past,  but  to  find  out  what  had 
never  been  known  before. 

We  have  seen  how  in  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries 
new  inventions  were  made,  such  as  the  compass,  paper,  specta- 
cles, gunpowder,  and,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  the  printing  press. 
But  in  the  seventeenth  century  progress  began  to  be  much 
more  rapid,  and  an  era  of  invention  opened,  in  the  midst  of 
which  we  still  live.  The  microscope  and  telescope  made  it  pos- 
sible to  discover  innumerable  scientific  truths  that  were  hidden 
to  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  In  time  this  scientific  advance 
produced  a  spirit  of  reform^  also  new  in  the  world,  and  the  first 
chapter  of  the  following  volume  will  be  devoted  to  this. 

QUESTIONS 

Section'  i  09.  What  were  the  chief  results  of  the  Council  of  Trent? 
Why  did  the  Protestants  refuse  to  take  part  in  it }  Give  an  account 
of  the  life  of  Loyola.  What  were  the  objects  of  the  Jesuit  order.? 
W^hat  accusations  did  the  Protestants  bring  against  the  society  1 

Section  i  id.  What  are  your  impressions  of  Philip  \\t  How  did 
it  come  about  that  the  Netherlands  belonged  to  Spain.?    Describe 


658  Outlines  of  European  History 

Philip's  policy  in  dealing  with  the  Netherlands.  How  did  the  United 
Netherlands  gain  their  independence  ? 

Section  i  i  i  .  What  were  the  religious  conditions  in  France  when 
Charles  IX  and  Catherine  of  Medici  came  into  power?  What  was 
the  character  of  the  Huguenot  party?  Describe  the  massacre  of 
St.  Bartholomew.  How  did  .Henry  IV  become  king?  What  was  the 
Edict  of  Nantes  ? 

Section  i  i  2.  What  measures  did  Queen  Elizabeth  take  in  reli- 
gious matters?  How  did  the  English  Church  originate?  Tell  the 
story  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots.  What  was  the  policy  of  Philip  II  in 
regard  to  Elizabeth?  What  were  the  general  results  of  Philip  IPs 
reign  ? 

Section  113.  What  was  the  origin  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War? 
What  led  the  Swedish  king  to  intervene  ?  W^hat  did  the  Swedes  gain 
by  the  intervention  ?  Why  did  Richelieu  send  troops  to  fight  in  the 
war?  What  w^ere  the  chief  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia? 
What  were  the  other  results  of  the  w- ar  ? 

Section  i  i  4.  What  is  the  difference  between  modern  scientific 
research  and  the  spirit  of  the  medieval  universities  ?  Describe  the 
discoveries  of  Copernicus.  What  did  Galileo  accomplish  ?  Give  the 
views  of  Descartes.  What  was  the  position  of  Francis  Bacon  in  regard 
to  scientific  research?    What  was  the  "  House  of  Solomon"? 

What  societies  were  established  for  scientific  investigation  ?  Can 
you  think  of  some  of  the  effects  that  modem  science  has  had  on  the 
lives  of  mankind? 


CHAPTER   XXVII 

STRUGGLE  IN  ENGLAND  BETWEEN  KING  AND  PARLIAMENT 

Section    115.    James   I  and  the  Divine  Right 
OF  Kings 

On  the  death  of  Elizabeth  in  1603,  James  I,  the  first  of  the   Accession  of 
Scotch  family  of  Stuart,  ascended  the  throne.    It  will  be  remem-   scodand  as 
bered  that  he  was  the  son  of  Mary  Stuart,  Queen  of  Scots,  and   e^^^^^^j^^ 
through  her  a  descendant  of  Henry  VII  (see  table,  p.  634).   In    1603 
Scotland  he  reigned  as  James  VI ;  consequently  the  two  king- 
doms were  now  brought  together  under  the  same  ruler.    This 
did  not,  however,  make  the  relations  between  the  two  countries 
much  more  cordial  than  they  had  been  in  the  past. 

The  chief  interest  of  the  period  of  the  Stuarts,  which  began  Chief  interest 
with  the  accession  of  James  I  in  1603  and  ended  with  the  flight  of  the  Smarts 
from  England  of  his  grandson,  James  II,  eighty-five  years  later, 
is  the  long  and  bitter  struggle  between  the  kings  and  Parlia- 
ment. The  vital  question  was,  Should  the  Stuart  kings,  who 
claimed  to  be  God's  representatives  on  earth,  do  as  they  thought 
fit,  or  should  Parliament  control  them  and  the  government  of 
the  country  ? 

We  have  seen  how  the  English  Parliament  originated  in  the   The  attitude 
time  of  Edward  I  and  how  his  successors  were  forced  to  pay   toward 
attention  to   its   wishes  (see   above,  pp.   421  ff.).     Under  the   P^r^'^ment 
Tudors  —  that  is,  from  the  time  of  Henry  VII  to  Elizabeth — the 
monarchs  had  been  able  to  manage  Parliament  so  that  it  did, 
in  general,  just  what  they  wished.    Henry  VIII  was  a  heartless 
tyrant,  and  his  daughter  Elizabeth,  like  her  father,  had  ruled  the 
nation  in  a  high-handed  manner,  but  neither  of  them  had  been 
accustomed  to  say  much  of  their  rights. 

659 


James  I 
loved  to 
discuss  the 
king's  claims 


660 


Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 


James  I,  on  the  other  hand,  had  a  very  irritating  way  of  dis- 
cussing his  claim  to  be  the  sole  and  supreme  ruler  of  England. 
"  It  is  atheism  and  blasphemy,"  he  declared,  "  to  dispute  what 
God  can  do ;  ...  so  it  is  presumption  and  high  contempt  in  a 
subject  to  dispute  what  a  king  can  do,  or  say  that  a  king  cannot 
do  this  or  that."    James  was  a  learned  man  and  fond  of  writing 


Fig.  226.   James  I 


books.  Among  them  he  published  a  work  on  monarchs,  in 
which  he  claimed  that  the  king  could  make  any  law  he  pleased 
without  consulting  Parliament ;  that  he  was  the  master  of 
every  one  of  his  subjects,  high  and  low,  and  might  put  to  death 
whom  he  pleased.  A  good  king  would  act  according  to  law, 
but  is  not  bound  to  do  so  and  has  the  power  to  change  the 
law  at  any  time  to  suit  himself. 


Struggle  in  England  betzveeii  King  and  Parliament    66 1 

These  theories  seem  strange  and  very  unreasonable  to  us,  but  The  "  divine 
James  was  only  tr)dng  to  justify  the  powers  which  the  Tudor  kj^gs"^ 
monarchs  had  actually  exercised  and  which  the  kings  of  France 
enjoyed  down  to  the  French  Revolution  of  1789.  According  to 
the  theory  of  "  the  divine  right  of  kings  "  it  had  pleased  God  to 
appoint  the  monarch  the  father  of  his  people.  People  must 
obey  him  as  they  would  God  and  ask  no  questions.  The  king 
was  responsible  to  God  alone,  to  whom  he  owed  his  powers,  not 
to  Parliament  or  the  nation  (see  below,  p.  682). 

It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  the  troubles  between  James  I  and 
Parliament,  for  his  reign  only  forms  the  preliminary  to  the  fatal 
experiences  of  his  son  Charles  I,  who  came  to  the  throne  in  1625. 

The  writers  of  James's  reign  constituted  its  chief  glory.   They   Great  writers 
outshone  those  of  any  other  European  country.    Shakespeare  is   reign —^  ^ 
generally  admitted  to  be  the  greatest  dramatist  that  the  world   Shakespeare 
has  produced.    While  he  wrote  many  of  his  plays  before  the 
death  of  Elizabeth,  some  of  his  finest  —  Othello,  Kifig  Lear,  and 
The  Tempest,  for  example  —  belong  to  the  time  of  James  I. 
During  the  same  period  Francis  Bacon  (see  above,  p.  656)  was   Francis 
writing   his  Advancement  of  Learning,  which  he  dedicated  to      ^^°" 
James  I  in  1605  and  in  which  he  urged  that  men  should  cease 
to  rely  upon  the  old  textbooks,  like  Aristotle,  and  turn  to  a 
careful  examination  of  animals,  plants,  and  chemicals,  with  a 
view  of  learning  about  them  and  using  the  knowledge   thus 
gained  to  improve  the  condition  of  mankind.    Bacon's  ability 
to  write  English  is  equal  to  that  of  Shakespeare,  but  he  chose 
to  write  prose,  not  verse.     It  was  in  James's  reign  that  the   King  james 
authorized  English  translation  of  the   Bible  was  made   which  Jhe^Bibie 
is  still  used  in  all  countries  where  English  is  spoken. 

An  English  physician  of  this  period,  William  Harvey,  exam-  William 
ined  the  workings  of  the  human  body  more  carefully  than  any      ^^^^ 
previous  investigator  and  made  the  great  discovery  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  blood  circulates  from  the  heart  through  the 
arteries  and  capillaries  and  back  through  the  veins  —  a  matter 
which  had  previously  been  entirely  misunderstood. 


662 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Charles  I, 
1625-1649 


Charles's  ex- 
actions and 
arbitrary-  acts 


The  Petition 
of  Right 


Section   116.     How  Charles   I   got  along  without 
Parliament 

Charles  I,  James  I's  son  and  successor,  was  somewhat  more 
dignified  than  his  father,  but  he  was  quite  as  obstinately  set 
upon  having  his  own  way  and  showed  no  more  skill  in  winning 
the  confidence  of  his  subjects.  He  did  nothing  to  remove  the 
disagreeable  impressions  of  his  father's  reign  and  began  im- 
mediately to  quarrel  with  Parliament.  When  that  body  refused 
to  grant  him  any  money,  mainly  because  they  thought  that  it 
was  likely  to  be  wasted  by  his  favorite,  the  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham, Charles  formed  the  plan  of  winning  their  favor  by  a  great 
military  victory. 

He  hoped  to  gain  popularity  by  prosecuting  a  war  against 
Spain,  whose  king  was  energetically  supporting  the  Catholic 
League  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Accordingly,  in  spite  of  Par- 
liament's refusal  to  grant  him  the  necessary  funds,  he  embarked 
in  war.  With  only  the  money  which  he  could  raise  by  irregular 
means,  Charles  arranged  an  expedition  to  capture  the  Spanish 
treasure  ships  which  arrived  in  Cadiz  once  a  year  from  America, 
laden  with  gold  and  silver ;  but  this  expedition  failed. 

In  his  attempts  to  raise  money  without  a  regular  grant  from 
Parliament,  Charles  resorted  to  vexatious  exactions.  The  law 
prohibited  him  from  asking  for  gifts  from  his  people,  but  it  did 
not  forbid  his  asking  them  to  lend  him  money,  however  little 
prospect  there  might  be  of  his  ever  repaying  it.  Five  gentlemen 
who  refused  to  pay  such  a  forced  loan  were  imprisoned  by  the 
mere  order  of  the  king.  This  raised  the  question  of  whether 
the  king  had  the  right  to  send  to  prison  those  whom  he  wished 
without  any  legal  reasons  for  their  arrest. 

This  and  other  attacks  upon  the  rights  of  his  subjects  aroused 
Parliament.  In  1628  that  body  drew  up  the  celebrated  Petition 
of  Right,  which  is  one  of  the  most  important  documents  in  the 
history  of  the  English  Constitution.  In  it  Parliament  called  the 
king's  attention  to  his  unlawful  exactions,  and  to  the  acts  of 


Striio;(^le  in  Eno;laiid  betiveen  Kins;  and  Parliament    66'\ 


his  agents  who  had  in  sundry  ways  molested  and  disquieted  the 

people  of  the  realm.    Parliament  therefore  "  humbly  prayed  " 

the  king  that  no  man  need  thereafter  "  make  or  yield  any  gift, 

loan,   benevolence,   tax,   or  such 

like  charge  "  without  consent  of 

Parliament ;    that    no    free    man 

should   be    imprisoned   or   suffer 

any  punishment  except  according 

to  the  laws  and  statutes  of  the 

realm  as  presented  in  the  Great 

Charter ;  and  that  soldiers  should 

not  be  quartered  upon  the  people 

on  any  pretext  whatever.    Very 

reluctantly  Charles  consented  to 

this  restatement  of  the  limitations 

which  the  English  had  always,  in 

theory  at  least,  placed  upon  the 

arbitrary  power  of  their  king. 

The  disagreement  between 
Charles  and  Parliament  was  ren- 
dered much  more  serious  by 
religious  differences.  The  king 
had  married  a  French  Catholic 
princess,  and  the  Catholic  cause 
seemed  to  be  gaining  on  the  Con- 
tinent, The  king  of  Denmark  had 
just  been  defeated  by  Wallenstein 
and  miy  (see  above,  p.  647),  and 
Richelieu  had  succeeded  in  de- 
priving the  Huguenots  of  their 
cities  of  refuge.  Both  James  I 
and  Charles  I  had  shown  their 
readiness  to  enter  into  agreements  with  France  and  Spain  to 
protect  Catholics  in  England,  and  there  was  evidently  a  growing 
inclination  in  England  to  revert  to  the  older  ceremonies  of  the 


Fig. 


227.    Charles  I  of 
England 


This  portrait  is  by  one  of  the 

greatest  painters  of  the  time, 

Anthony  Van  Dyck,  1 599-1641 

(see  Fig.  229) 


664  Outlmes  of  European  History 

Church,  which  shocked  the  more  strongly  Protestant  members 

of  the  House  of  Commons.    The  communion  table  was  again 

placed  by  many  clergymen  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  church  and 

became  fixed  there  as  an  altar,  and  portions  of  the  service  were 

once  more  chanted. 

Charles  dis-  These  "  popish  practices,"  as  the  Protestants  called  them, 

^£^^(1629)^     ^^it^^  which   Charles   was   supposed   to   sympathize,   served  to 

and  deter-        widen  the  breach  between  him  and  the  Commons,  which  had 

mines  to  rule 

by  himself       been  caused  by  the  king's  attempt  to  raise  taxes  on  his  own  ac- 
count.   The  Parliament  of  1629,  after  a  stormy  session,  was  dis- 
solved by  the  king,  who  determined  to  rule  thereafter  by  him^self. 
For  eleven  years  no  new  Parliament  was  summoned. 
Charles's  Charlcs  was  not  well  fitted  by  nature  to  run  the  government 

exactions  o^  England  by  himself.  He  had  not  the  necessary  tireless 
energy.  Moreover,  the  methods  resorted  to  by  his  ministers  to 
raise  money  without  recourse  to  Parliament  rendered  the  king 
more  and  more  unpopular  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  trium- 
phant return  of  Parliament.  For  example,  Charles  applied  to  his 
subjects  for  "  ship  money."  He  was  anxious  to  equip  a  fleet, 
but  instead  of  requiring  the  various  ports  to  furnish  ships,  as 
was  the  ancient  custom,  he  permitted  them  to  buy  themselves  off 
by  contributing  money  to  the  fitting  out  of  large  ships  owned  by 
himself.  Even  those  living  inland  were  asked  for  ship  money. 
The  king  maintained  that  this  was  not  a  tax  but  simply  a  pay- 
ment by  which  his  subjects  freed  themselves  from  the  duty  of 
defending  their  country. 
John  John  Hampden,  a  squire  of  Buckinghamshire,  made  a  bold 

Hampden  ^^^^^  against  this  illegal  demand  by  refusing  to  pay  twenty 
shillings  of  ship  money  which  was  levied  upon  him.  The  case 
was  tried  before  the  king's  judges,  and  he  was  convicted,  but 
by  a  bare  majority.  The  trial  made  it  tolerably  clear  that 
the  country  would  not  put  up  long  with  the  king's  despotic 
policy. 

In  1633  Charles  made  William  Laud  archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury.   Laud  believed  that  the  English  Church  would  strengthen 


Struggle  ill  England  betzveen  King  and  Parliament    665 

both  itself  and  the  government  by  following  a  middle  course,  William 

which  should  lie  between  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome  and  that  ^rchbiSSfp^ 

of   Calvinistic  Geneva.     He  declared  that  it  was  the  part  of  of  Canterbury 
good  citizenship  to  conform  outwardly  to  the  services  of  the 


Fig.  228.   John  Hampden 


state  church,  but  that  the  State  should  not  undertake  to  oppress 
the  individual  conscience,  and  that  every  one  should  be  at  liberty 
to  make  up  his  own  mind  in  regard  to  the  interpretation  to  be 
given  to  the  Bible  and  to  the  church  fathers.  As  soon  as  he 
became  archbishop  he  began  a  series  of  visitations  through  his 
province.     Every  clergyman  who  refused  to   conform   to   the 


666  Outlines  of  European  History 

praver  book,  or  opposed  the  placing  of  the  communion  table 
at  the  east  end  of  the  church,  or  declined  to  bow  at  the  name 
of  Jesus,  was,   if   obstinate,   to   be   brought  before  the  king's 
special  Court  of  High  Commission  to  be  tried  and.  if  convicted, 
to  be  deprived  of  his  position. 
The  different        Laud's  conduct  was  no  doubt  gratifying  to  the  High  Church 
S-oistants—   party  among  the  Protestants,  that  is,  those  who  still  clung  to 
^^f\  *^^"^^^   some  of  the  ancient  practices  of  the  Roman  Church,  although 
Church  thev  rejected  the  doctrine  of  the  Mass  and  refused  to  regard 

the  Pope  as  their  head.  The  Low  Church  party,  or  Puritans, 
on  the  contrary,  regarded  Laud  and  his  policy  with  aversion. 
While,  unlike  the  Presbyterians,  they  did  not  urge  the  abolition 
of  the  bishops,  they  disliked  all  '•  superstitious  usages,"  as  they 
called  the  wearing  of  the  surplice  by  the  clergy,  the  use  of  the 
sign  of  the  cross  at  baptism,  the  kneeling  posture  in  partaking 
of  the  communion,  and  so  forth.  The  Presbyterians,  who  are 
often  confused  with  the  Puritans,  agreed  with  them  in  many 
respects,  but  went  farther  and  demanded  the  introduction  of 
Calvin's  system  of  church  government. 
The  Lastly,  there  was  an  ever-increasing  number  of  Separatists, 

epen  en  s  ^^  Independents.  These  rejected  both  the  organization  of  the 
Church  of  England  and  that  of  the  Presbyterians,  and  desired 
that  each  religious  community  should  organize  itself  independ- 
ently. The  government  had  forbidden  these  Separatists  to  hold 
their  little  meetings,  which  they  called  coni'enticles,  and  about 
The  Pilgrim  i6oo  somc  of  them  fled  to  Holland.  The  community  of  them 
which  established  itself  at  Leyden  dispatched  the  Mayflower,  in 
1620,  with  colonists  —  since  known  as  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  —  to 
the  New  World  across  the  sea.^  It  was  these  colonists  who  laid 
the  foundations  of  a  Xeiu  England  which  has  proved  a  worthy 
offspring  of  the  mother  countr}-.  The  form  of  worship  which  they 
established  in  their  new  home  is  still  known  as  Congregational. 

1  The  name  "  Puritan."  it  should  be  noted,  was  applied  loosely  to  the  English 
Protestants,  whether  Low  Churchmen.  Presbyterians,  or  Independents,  who 
aroused  the  antagonism  of  their  neighbors  by  advocating  a  godly  life  and  opposing 
popular  pastimes,  especially  on  Sunday. 


Fathers 


Stncggle  in  England  betzueen  King  and  Parliament    667 


Section  117.    How  Charles  I  lost  hl>  Head 

In   1640  Charles  found  himself  forced  to  summon  Parlia-   Charles  r's 
ment,  for  he  was  involved  in  a  war  with  Scotland  which  he  Xe  Scotch 
could  not  carry  on  without  money.     There  the   Presbyterian    Presbnenans 
system  had  been  prett)'  generally  introduced  by  John  Knox  in 
Elizabeth's  time  (see  above,  p.  640;.    An  attempt  on  the  part 
of  Charles  to  force  the  Scots  to  accept  a  modified  form  of  the 
English  prayer  book  led  to  the  signing  of  the  National  Covenant   The  National 
in  1638.    This  pledged  those  who  attached  their  names  to  it  to    15^3^^"^"  ' 
reestablish  the  purity  and  liberty  of  the  Gospel,  which,  to  most 
of  the  Covenanters,  meant  Presbyterianism. 

Charles  thereupon  undertook  to  coerce  the  Scots,  Having  Charles 
no  money,  he  bought  on  credit  a  large  cargo  of  pepper,  which  the^Long 
had  just  arrived  in  the  ships  of  the  East  India  Company,  and 
sold  it  cheap  for  ready  cash.  The  soldiers,  however,  whom  he 
got  together  showed  little  inclination  to  fight  the  Scots,  with 
whom  they  were  in  tolerable  agreement  on  religious  matters. 
Charles  was  therefore  at  last  obliged  to  summon  a  Parliament, 
which,  owing  to  the  length  of  time  it  remained  in  session,  is 
known  as  the  Long  Parliament. 

The  Long  Parliament  began  by  imprisoning  Archbishop  Laud   The  meas- 
in  the  Tower  of  London.    They  declared  him  guilty  of  trea-   L^Jng 
son,  and  he  was  executed  in  164;,  in  spite  of  Charles's  efforts  to   Parliament 

^^  ^  against  the 

save  him.    Parliament  also  tried  to  strengthen  its  position  by   king's 


Parliament, 
640 


passing  the  Triennial  Bill,  which  provided  that  it  should  meet  at 
least  once  in  three  years,  even  if  not  summoned  by  the  king. 
In  fact,  Charles's  whole  system  of  government  was  abrogated. 
Parliament  drew  up  a  ''  Grand  Remonstrance  ''  in  which  all  of 
Charles's  errors  were  enumerated  and  a  demand  was  made  that 
the  king's  ministers  should  thereafter  be  responsible  to  Parlia- 
ment. This  document  Parliament  ordered  to  be  printed  and 
circulated  throughout  the  countr}-. 

Exasperated  at  the  conduct  of  the  Commons.   Charles  at- 
tempted to  intimidate  the  opposition  by  undertaking  to  arrest 


t)Tanny 


668 


Outlines  of  Eiiropean  History 


Charles's 
attempts  to 
arrest  fi\-e 
members  of 
the  House 
of  Commons 


The  begin- 
ning of  civil 
war,  1642  — 
Cavaliers  and 
Roundheads 


five  of  its  most  active  leaders,  whom  he  declared  to  be  traitors. 
But  when  he  entered  the  House  of  Commons  and  looked 
around  for  his  enemies,  he  found  that  they  had  taken  shelter 
in  London,  whose  citizens  later  brought  them  back  in  triumph 
to  Westminster,  where  Parliament  held  its  meetings. 


\ 


Fig.  229.    Children  of  Charles  I 

This  very  interesting  picture,  by  the  Flemish  artist  Van  Dyck,  was 
painted  in  1637.  The  boy  with  his  hand  on  the  dog's  head  was  des- 
tined to  become  Charles  II  of  England.  Next  on  the  left  is  the  prince, 
who  was  later  James  II.  The  girl  to  the  extreme  left,  the  Princess 
Mary,  married  the  governor  of  the  United  Netherlands,  and  her  son 
became  WiUiam  III  of  England  in  1688  (see  below,  p.  678).  The  two 
princesses  on  the  right  died  in  childhood 

Both  Charles  and  Parliament  now  began  to  gather  troops 
for  the  inevitable  conflict,  and  England  was  plunged  into  civil 
war.  Those  who  supported  Charles  were  called  Cavaliers. 
They  included  not  only  most  of  the  aristocracy  and  the  Catholic 
party,  but  also  a  number  of  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons who  were  fearful  lest  Presbyterianism  should  succeed  in 


Struggle  i?i  E^iglaiid  betivee7i  King  and  Parliament    669 

doing  aw£.y  with  the  English  Church.  The  parliamentary  party 
was  popularly  known  as  the  Roundheads,  since  some  of  them 
cropped  their  hair  close  because  of  their  dislike  for  the  long 
locks  of  their  more  aristocratic  and  worldly  opponents. 

The  Roundheads  soon  found  a  distinguished  leader  in  Oliver  Oliver 
Cromwell  (b.  1599),  a  country  gentleman  and  member  of  Parlia- 
ment, who  was  later  to  become  the  most  powerful  ruler  of  his 
time.  Cromwell  organized  a  compact  army  of  God-fearing  men, 
who  were  not  permitted  to  indulge  in  profane  words  or  light 
talk,  as  is  the  wont  of  soldiers,  but  advanced  upon  their  enemies 
singing  psalms.  The  king  enjoyed  the  support  of  northern 
England,  and  also  looked  for  help  from  Ireland,  where  the 
royal  and  Catholic  causes  were  popular. 

The   war   continued    for  several   years,   and   a  number  of   Battles  of 
batdes  were  fought  which,  after  the  first  year,  went  in  general   ^loor  and 
against  the  Cavaliers.    The  most  important  of  these  were  the-  ^"^^^^^y 
battle  of  Marston  Moor  in  1644,  and  that  of  Naseby  the  next 
year,  in  which  the  king  was  disastrously  defeated.    The  enemy 
came    into   possession   of    his   correspondence,   which    showed   The  losing 
them  how  their  king  had  been  endeavoring  to  bring  armies   the  king 
from  France  and  Ireland  into  England.    This  encouraged  Par- 
liament  to   prosecute   the   war  with  more   energy   than   ever. 
The  king,  defeated  on  ever)^  hand,  put  himself  in  the  hands  of 
the   Scotch  army  which  had  come  to  the   aid  of   Parliament 
(1646),  and  the  Scotch  soon  turned  him  over  to  Parliament. 
During  the  next  two  years  Charles  was  held  in  captivity. 

There  were,  however,  many  in  the  House  of  Commons  who  Pride's 
still  sided  with  the  king,  and  in  December,  1648,  that  body  de-  "'^^^ 
clared  for  a  reconciliation  with  the  monarch,  whom  they  had 
safely  imprisoned  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  The  next  day  Colonel 
Pride,  representing  the  army,  —  which  constituted  a  party  in  it- 
self and  was  opposed  to  all  negotiations  between  the  king  and 
the  Commons,  —  stood  at  the  door  of  the  House  with  a  body  of 
soldiers  and  excluded  all  the  members  who  took  the  side  of  the 
king.   This  outrageous  act  is  known  in  histor}^  as  ''  Pride's  Purge." 


6/0 


Outlines  of  Eiiropcaji  History 


Execution  of 
Charles,  1649 


In  this  way  the  House  of  Commons  was  brought  completely 
under  the  control  of  those  most  bitterly  hostile  to  the  king,  whom 
they  immediately  proposed  to  bring  to  trial.  They  declared  that 
the  House  of  Commons,  since  it  was  chosen  by  the  people,  was 
supreme  in  England  and  the  source  of  all  just  power,  and  that 
consequently  neither  king  nor  House  of  Lords  was  necessary. 
The  mutilated  House  of  Commons  appointed  a  special  High 
Court  of  Justice  made  up  of  Charles's  sternest  opponents,  who 
alone  would  consent  to  sit  in  judgment  on  him.  They  passed 
sentence  upon  him,  and  on  January  30,  1649,  Charles  was  be- 
headed in  front  of  his  palace  of  Whitehall,  London.  It  must  be 
clear  from  the  above  account  that  it  was  not  the  nation  at  large 
which  demanded  Charles's  death,  but  a  very  small  group  of  ex- 
tremists who  claimed  to  be  the  representatives  of  the  nation. 


Section  ii8.    Oliver  Cromwell:  England  a 
Commonwealth 


England 
becomes  a 
common- 
wealth, or 
republic. 
Cromwell  at 
the  head  of 
the  govern- 
ment 


Ireland  and 

Scotland 

subdued 


The  "  Rump  Parliament,"  as  the  remnant  of  the  House  of 
Commons  was  contemptuously  called,  proclaimed  England  to 
be  thereafter  a  "  commonwealth,"  that  is,  a  republic,  without  a 
king  or  House  of  Lords.  But  Cromwell,  the  head  of  the  army, 
was  nevertheless  the  real  ruler  of  England.  He  derived  his  main 
support  from  the  Independents  ;  and  it  is  very  surprising  that  he 
was  able  to  maintain  himself  so  long,  considering  what  a  small 
portion  of  the  English  people  was  in  sympathy  with  the  religious 
ideas  of  that  sect  and  with  the  abolition  of  kingship.  Even  the 
Presbyterians  were  on  the  side  of  Charles  I's  son,  Charles  II, 
the  legal  heir  to  the  throne.  Cromwell  was  a  vigorous  and 
skillful  administrator  and  had  a  well-organized  army  of  fifty 
thousand  men  at  his  command,  otherwise  the  republic  could 
scarcely  have  lasted  more  than  a  few  months. 

Cromwell  found  himself  confronted  by  every  variety  of  diffi- 
culty. The  three  kingdoms  had  fallen  apart.  The  nobles  and 
Catholics  in  Ireland  proclaimed  Charles  II  as  king,  and  Ormond, 


St7'uggle  271  England  betwee7i  Ki7ig  a7id  Pa7'liai7ie7it    671 

a  Protestant  leader,  formed  an  army  of  Irish  Catholics  and  Eng- 
lish royalist  Protestants  with  a  view  of  overthrowing  the  Com- 
monwealth. Cromwell  accordingly  set  out  for  Ireland,  where, 
after  taking  Drogheda,  he  mercilessly-  slaughtered  two  thousand 
of  the  "  barbarous  wretches,"  as  he  called  them.    Town  after 


Fig.  230.    Oliver  Cromwell 
This  portrait  is  by  Peter  Lely  and  was  painted  in  1653 

town  surrendered  to  Cromwell's  army,  and  in  1652,  after  much 
cruelty,  the  island  was  once  more  conquered.  A  large  part  of  it 
was  confiscated  for  the  benefit  of  the  English,  and  the  Catholic 
landowners  were  driven  into  the  mountains.  In  the  meantime 
(1650)  Charles  II,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  France,  had  landed  in 
Scotland,  and  upon  his  agreeing  to  be  a  Presbyterian  king,  the 
whole  Scotch  nation  was  ready  to  support  him.  But  Scotland  was 
subdued  by  Cromwell  even  more  promptly  than  Ireland  had  been. 


6/2  Outlines  of  European  History 

So  completely  was  the  Scottish  army  destroyed  that  Cromwell 
found  no  need  to  draw  the  sword  again  in  the  British  Isles. 


Fig.  231.    Great  Seal  of  England  under  the 
Commonwealth,  1651 

This  seal  is  reduced  considerably  in  the  reproduction.    It  gives  us  an 

idea  of  the  appearance  of  a  session  of  the  House  of  Commons  when 

England  was  for  a  short  period  a  republic.   It  is  still  to-day  the  custom 

for  members  to  sit  with  their  hats  on,  e.xcept  when  making  a  speech 

The  Naviga-         Although  it  would  seem  that  Cromwell  had  enough  to  keep 

ion    c  ,  I  3 1    j^.^  busy  at  home,   he  had   already  engaged  in   a  victorious 

foreign  war  against   the   Dutch,   who  had   become  dangerous 

commercial  rivals  of  England.    The  ships  which  went  out  from 


Struggle  in  England  between  King  and  Parliament    673 

Amsterdam  and  Rotterdam  were  the  best  merchant  vessels  in 

the  world  and  had  got  control  of  the  carrying  trade  between 

Europe  and  the  colonies.    In  order  to  put  an  end  to  this,  the 

English  Parliament  passed  the  Navigation  Act  (1651),  which 

permitted    only   English  vessels    to   bring  goods   to   England, 

unless   the  goods  came   in   vessels   belonging   to   the   country 

which  had  produced  them.    This  led  to  a  commercial  war  be-   Commercial 

tween  Holland  and  England,  and  a  series  of  battles  was  fought   Holland  and 

between  the  English  and  Dutch  fleets,  in  which  sometimes  one    England 

and  sometimes  the  other  gained  the  upper  hand.    This  war  is 

notable  as  the  first  example  of  the  commercial  struggles  which 

were  thereafter  to  take  the  place  of  the  religious  conflicts  of 

the  preceding  period. 

Cromwell  failed  to  get  along  with  Parliament  any  better  than   Cromwell 
Charles  I  had  done.    The  Rump  Parliament  had  become  very   Long^Parlia- 
unpopular,  for  its  members,  in   spite  of   their  boasted   piety,   ™^"y  ^^^'^^a 
accepted  bribes  and  were  zealous  in  the  promotion  of  their   Lord  Pro- 
relatives  in  the   public   service.     At   last  Cromwell   upbraided   his  own 
them  angrily  for  their  injustice  and  self-interest,  which  were 
injuring  the  public  cause.     On  being  interrupted  by  a  mem- 
ber, he  cried  out,  "  Come,  come,  we  have  had  enough  of  this ! 
I  '11  put  an  end  to  this.    It 's  not  fit  that  you  should  sit  here 
any  longer,"  and  calling  in  his  soldiers  he  turned  the  members 
out  of  the  House  and  sent  them  home.    Having  thus  made  an 
end  of  the  Long  Parliament  (April,   1653),  he  summoned  a 
Parliament  of  his  own,  made  up  of  "  God-fearing  "  men  whom 
he  and  the  officers  of  his  army  chose.    This  extraordinary  body 
is  known  as  Barebone's  Parliament,  from  a  distinguished  mem- 
ber,  a   London   merchant,   with   the   characteristically   Puritan 
name  of  Praisegod  Barebone.    Many  of  these  godly  men  were 
unpractical  and  hard  to  deal  with.    A  minority  of  the  more  sen- 
sible ones  got  up  early  one  winter  morning  (December,  1653) 
and,  before  their  opponents  had  a  chance  to  protest,  declared 
Parliament  dissolved  and  placed  the  supreme  authority  in  the 
hands  of  Cromwell. 


Parliament 


6/4 


Outlines  of  Eni'opcan  History 


The  Pro- 
tector's 
foreign 
policy 


For  nearly  five  years  Cromwell  was,  as  Lord  Protector,  —  a 
title  equivalent  to  that  of  Regent,  —  practically  king  of  England, 
although  he  refused  actually  to  accept  the  royal  insignia.  He 
did  not  succeed  in  permanently  organizing  the  government  at 


Fig.  232.    DinxH  War  Vessel  ix  Cromwell's  Tlme 

This  should  be  compared  with  Fig.  233  to  realize  the  change  that  had 

taken  place  in  navigation  since  the  palmy  days  of  the  Hanseatic  League. 

(See  above,  p.  50S) 


home  but  showed  remarkable  ability  in  his  foreign  negotiations. 
He  formed  an  alliance  with  France,  and  English  troops  aided 
the  French  in  winning  a  great  victory  over  Spain.  England 
gained  thereby  Dunkirk,  and  the  West  Indian  island  of  Jamaica. 


1 


Struggle  in  England  between  King  and  Parliament    675 


The  French  king,  Louis  XIV,  at  first  hesitated  to  address  Crom- 
well, in  the  usual  courteous  way  of  monarchs,  as  "  my  cousin," 
but  soon  admitted  that  he  would  have  even  to  call  Cromwell 
"  father  "  should  he  wish  it,  as  the  Protector  was  undoubtedly 
the  m.ost  powerful  person  in  Europe.  Indeed,  he  found  himself 
forced  to  play  the  part  of  a  monarch,  and  it  seemed  to  many 
persons  that  he  was  quite  as  despotic  as  James  I  and  .Charles  I. 

In  May,  1658,  Crom- 
well fell  ill,  and  as  a  great 
storm  passed  over  Eng- 
land at  that  time,  the 
Cavaliers  asserted  that 
the  devil  had  come  to 
fetch  home  th^  soul  of 
the  usurper.  Cromwell 
was  dying,  it  is  true,  but 
he  was  no  instrument  of 
the  devil.  He  closed  a 
life  of  honest  effort  for 
his  fellow  beings  with  a 
last  touching  prayer  to 
God,  whom  he  had  con- 
sistently sought  to  serve : 
"  Thou  hast  made  me, 
though  very  unworthy, 
a  mean  instrument  to  do 
Thy  people  some  good 
and   Thee   service :   and 


Fig.  233.  A  Ship  of  the  Haxseatic 
Leagle 

This  is  taken  from  a  picture  at  Cologne, 
painted  in  1409.  It,  as  well  as  other  pic- 
tures of  the  time,  makes  it  clear  that  the 
Hanseatic  ships  were  tiny  compared  with 
those  used  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
later,  when  Cromwell  fought  the  Dutch 


many  of  them  have  set  too  high  a  value  upon  me,  though 
others  wish  and  would  be  glad  of  my  death.  Pardon  such  as 
desire  to  trample  upon  the  dust  of  a  poor  worm,  for  they 
are  Thy  people  too ;  and  pardon  the  folly  of  this  short  prayer, 
even  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  and  give  us  a  good  night,  if  it 
be  Thy  pleasure.    Amen." 


The  Resto- 
ration 


Charles  II 
welcomed 
back  as  king, 
1660 


Character  of 
Charles  II 


Religious 
measures 
adopted  by 
Parliament 


^']6  Ojttlincs  of  En7vpcan  History 

Section   119.    The  Restoration 

After  Cromwell's  death  his  son  Richard,  who  succeeded  him, 
found  himself  unable  to  carry  on  the  government.  He  soon 
abdicated,  and  the  remnants  of  the  Long  Parliament  met  once 
more.  But  the  power  was  really  in  the  hands  of  the  soldiers. 
In  1660  George  Monk,  who  was  in  command  of  the  forces  in 
Scotland,  came  to  London  with  a  view  of  putting  an  end  to  the 
anarchy.  He  soon  concluded  that  no  one  cared  to  support  the 
Rump,  and  that  body  peacefully  disbanded  of  its  own  accord. 
Resistance  would  have  been  vain  in  any  case  with  the  army 
against  it.  The  nation  was  glad  to  acknowledge  Charles  H, 
whom  every  one  preferred  to  a  government  by  soldiers.  A  new 
Parliament,  composed  of  both  houses,  was  assembled,  which 
welcomed  a  messenger  from  the  king  and  solemnly  resolved 
that,  "  according  to  the  ancient  and  fundamental  laws  of  this 
kingdom,  the  government  is,  and  ought  to  be,  by  king,  lords, 
and  commons."  Thus  the  Puritan  revolution  and  the  short-lived 
republic  was  followed  by  the  RestoratioJi  of  the  Stuarts. 

Charles  H  was  quite  as  fond  as  his  father  of  having  his  own 
way,  but  he  was  a  man  of  more  ability.  He  disliked  to  be  ruled 
by  Parliament,  but,  unlike  his  father,  he  was  too  wise  to  arouse 
the  nation  against  him.  He  did  not  propose  to  let  anything 
happen  which  would  send  him  on  his  travels  again.  He  and  his 
courtiers  were  fond  of  pleasure  of  a  light-minded  kind.  The 
immoral  dramas  of  the  Restoration  seem  to  indicate  that  those 
who  had  been  forced  by  the  Puritans  to  give  up  their  legitimate 
pleasures  now  welcomed  the  opportunity  to  indulge  in  reck- 
less gayety  without  regard  to  the  bounds  imposed  by  custom 
and  decency. 

Charles's  first  Parliament  was  a  moderate  body,  but  his  second 
was  made  up  almost  wholly  of  Cavaliers,  and  it  got  along,  on 
the  whole,  so  well  with  the  king  that  he  did  not  dissolve  it  for 
eighteen  years.  It  did  not  take  up  the  old  question,  which  was 
still  unsettled,  as  to  whether  Parliament  or  the  king  was  really 


Struggle  in  England  betivecn  King  and  Parliament    6y7 

supreme.  It  showed  its  hostility,  however,  to  the  Puritans  by  a 
series  of  intolerant  acts,  which  are  very  important  in  English 
histoiy.  It  ordered  that  no  one  should  hold  a  town  office  who 
had  not  received  the  communion  according  to  the  rites  of  the 
Church  of  England.  This  was  aimed  at  both  the  Presbyterians 
and  the  Independents.  By  the  Act  of  Uniformity  (1662)  every  The  Act  of 
clergyman  who  refused  to  accept  everything  contained  in  the  "^  ormity 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  to  be  excluded  from  holding  his 
benefice.  Two  thousand  clergymen  thereupon  resigned  their 
positions  for  conscience'  sake. 

These  laws  tended  to  throw  all  those  Protestants  who  refused  The  Dis- 
to  conform  to  the  Church  of  England  into  a  single  class,  still  known 
to-day  as  Dissenters.  It  included  the  Independents,  the  Pres- 
byterians, and  the  newer  bodies  of  the  Baptists  and  the  Society 
of  Friends,  commonly  known  as  Quakers.  These  sects  aban- 
doned any  idea  of  controlling  the  religion  or  politics  of  the  coun- 
try, and  asked  only  that  they  might  be  permitted  to  worship  in 
their  own  way  outside  of  the  English  Church. 

Toleration  found  an  unexpected  ally  in  the  king,  who,  in  Toleration 
spite  of  his  dissolute  habits,  had  interest  enough  in  religion  to  ^^e  king 
have  secret  leanings  toward  Catholicism.  He  asked  Parliament 
to  permit  him  to  moderate  the  rigor  of  the  Act  of  Uniformity 
by  making  some  exceptions.  He  even  issued  a  declaration  in 
the  interest  of  toleration,  with  a  view  of  bettering  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Catholics  and  Dissenters.  Suspicion  was,  however, 
aroused  lest  this  toleration  might  lead  to  the  restoration  of 
"  popery,'"'  —  as  the  Protestants  called  the  Catholic  beliefs,  — 
and  Parliament  passed  the  harsh  Conventicle  Act  (1664).  The  Conven- 

Any  adult  attending  a  conventicle  —  that  is  to  say,  any  reli- 
gious meeting  not  held  in  accordance  with  the  practice  of  the 
English  Church  —  was  liable  to  penalties  which  might  culminate 
in  transportation  to  some  distant  colony.  Samuel  Pepys,  who 
saw  some  of  the  victims  of  this  law  upon  their  way  to  a  terrible 
exile,  notes  in  his  famous  diary :  *'  They  go  like  lambs  without 
any  resistance.    I  would  to  God  that  they  would  conform,  or  be 


6/8 


Outlines  of  Ejiropea7i  History 


The  Test 

Act 


War  with 
Holland 


more  wise  and  not  be  catched."  A  few  years  later  Charles  II 
issued  a  declaration  giving  complete  religious  liberty  to  Roman 
Catholics  as  well  as  to  Dissenters.  Parliament  not  only  forced 
him  to  withdraw  this  enlightened  measure  but  passed  the  Test 
Act,  which  excluded  every  one  from  public  office  who  did  not 
accept  the  views  of  the  English  Church. 

The  old  war  with  Holland,  begun  by  Cromwell,  was  renewed 
under  Charles  II,  who  was  earnestly  desirous  to  increase  Eng- 
lish commerce  and  to  found  new  colonies.  The  two  nations 
were  very  evenly  matched  on  the  sea,  but  in  1664  the  English 
seized  some  of  the  West  Indian  Islands  from  the  Dutch  and 
also  their  colony  on  Manhattan  Island,  which  was  re-named 
New  York  in  honor  of  the  king's  brother,  the  Duke  of  York. 
In  1667  a  treaty  was  signed  by  England  and  Holland  which 
confirmed  these  conquests. 


James  IT, 
i68;-i688 


The  revolu- 
tion of  1688 
and  the 
accession  of 
William  III, 
1688-1702 


Section   120.    The  Revolution  of  1688 

Upon  Charles  IPs  death  he  was  succeeded  by  his  brother, 
James  II,  who  was  an  avowed  Catholic  and  had  married,  as  his 
second  wife,  Mary  of  Modena,  who  was  also  a  Catholic.  He  was 
ready  to  reestablish  Catholicism  in  England  regardless  of  what  it 
might  cost  him.  Mary,  James's  daughter  by  his  first  wife,  had 
married  her  cousin,  William  HI,  Prince  of  Orange,  the  head  of 
the  United  Netherlands.  The  nation  might  have  tolerated  James 
so  long  as  they  could  look  for\vard  to  the  accession  of  his 
Protestant  daughter.  But  when  a  son  was  born  to  his  Catholic 
second  wife,  and  James  showed  unmistakably  his  purpose  of 
favoring  the  Catholics,  messengers  were  dispatched  by  a  group 
of  Protestants  to  William  of  Orange,  asking  him  to  come  and 
rule  over  them. 

William  landed  in  November,  1688,  and  marched  upon  Lon- 
don, where  he  received  general  support  from  all  the  English 
Protestants,  regardless  of  party.  James  II  started  to  oppose  Wil- 
liam, but  his  army  refused  to  fight  and  his  courtiers  deserted 


Struggle  in  England  betzveen  King  and  Parlia^nent    679 

him.  William  was  glad  to  forward  James's  jflight  to  France,  as 
he  would  hardly  have  known  what  to  do  with  him  had  James  in- 
sisted on  remaining  in  the  country.  A  new  Parliament  declared 
the  throne  vacant,  on  the  ground  that  King  James  II,  "  by  the 
advice  of  the  Jesuits  and  other  wicked  persons,  having  violated 
the  fundamental  laws  and  withdrawn  himself  out  of  the  kingdom, 
had  abdicated  the  government." 

Charles  I,  m.  Henrietta  Maria  of  France 
(1625-1649)   j 

I  \  i 

Charles  II       Mary,  m.  William  II     Anne  Hyde,  m.  James  II,  m.  Mary  of  Modena 
Prince  of  1(1685-1688) 


(1660-1685) 


Orange 


I  I 

William  III,  m.  Mary     Anne  James  Francis  Edward, 

(1688-1702)  "(1702-1714)  the  Old  Pretender 

A  Bill  of  Rights  was  then  drawn  up,  condemning  James's   The  Bill  of 


violation  of  the  constitution  and  appointing  William  and  Mary 
joint  sovereigns.  The  Bill  of  Rights,  which  is  an  important 
monument  in  English  constitutional  history,  once  more  stated 
the  fundamental  rights  of  the  English  nation  and  the  limitations 
which  the  Petition  of  Right  and  Magna  Charta  had  placed  upon 
the  king.  By  this  peaceful  revolution  of  1688  the  English  rid 
themselves  of  the  Stuarts  and  their  claims  to  rule  by  divine  right, 
and  once  more  declared  themselves  against  the  rule  of  the  Pope. 
h.  bill  of  toleration  was  passed  by  Parliament  which  freed 
Dissenters  from  all  penalties  for  failing  to  attend  services  in 
Anglican  churches  and  allowed  them  to  have  their  ow^n  meet- 
ings. Even  Catholics,  while  not  included  in  the  act  of  toleration, 
were  permitted  to  hold  services  undisturbed  by  the  government. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  115.  What  was  the  great  issue  during  the  period  of  the 
Stuarts .?  What  were  the  views  of  kingship  held  by  James  I .?  Men- 
tion some  of  the  books  of  his  time. 

Section  116.  What  policy  did  Charles  I  adopt  in  regard  to 
Parliament.?   What  was  the  Petition  of  Right?    What  were  the  chief 


Rights 


68o  Outlines  of  European  History 

religious  parties  in  England  in  the  time  of  Charles  I  ?  Who  was  John 
Hampden  ?  Mention  some  of  the  religious  sects  that  date  from  that 
time  which  still  exist  in  the  United  States. 

Section  i  i  7.  What  measures  did  the  Long  Parliament  take 
against  the  king  ?  Describe  the  civil  war.  What  led  to  the  execution 
of  Charles  I .? 

Section  118.  What  were  the  chief  events  during  Cromwell's 
administration?    What  are  your  impressions  of  Cromwell.? 

Section  i  i  9.  Wliat  led  to  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts  ?  What 
was  the  attitude  of  Charles  II  toward  the  religious  difficulties?  Who 
were  the  Dissenters  ? 

Section  i  20.  Why  was  James  II  unpopular  ?  Give  an  account  of 
the  revolution  which  put  William  and  Mary  on  the  English  throne. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

FRANCE  UNDER  LOUIS  XIV 

Section  121.  Position  and  Character  of  Louis  XIV 

Under  the  despotic  rule  of  Louis  XIV  (1643-17 15)  France   France  at  the 

1  ^■  ■    a  •       T^  rr   •  \  c.         accession  of 

enjoyed  a  commanding  miluence  m  European  aftairs.  After  Louis  xiv 
the  wars  of  religion  were  over,  the  royal  authority  had  been  ^^43-1715 
reestablished  by  the  wise  conduct  of  Henry  IV.  Later,  Riche- 
lieu had  solidified  the  monarchy  by  depriving  the  Huguenots  of 
the  exceptional  privileges  granted  to  them  for  their  protection 
by  Henry  lA" ;  he  had  also  destroyed  the  fortified  castles  of  the 
nobles,  whose  power  had  greatly  increased  during  the  turmoil 
of  the  Huguenot  wars.  His  successor.  Cardinal  Mazarin,  who 
conducted  the  government  during  Louis  XIV's  boyhood,  was 
able  to  put  down  a  last  rising  of  the  discontented  nobility. 

When  Mazarin  died,  in  166 1,  he  left  the  young  monarch  with  What  Riche- 
a  kingdom  such  as  no  previous  French  king  had  enjoyed.  The  M^arin  had 
nobles,  who  for  centuries  had  disputed  the  power  with  the  king,   J*^"^  ^°''  ^^^ 

'  r  r  o?    French  mon- 

were  no  longer  feudal  lords  but  only  courtiers.  The  Huguenots,  archy 
whose  claim  to  a  place  in  the  State  beside  the  Catholics  had  led 
to  the  terrible  civil  wars  of  the  sixteenth  century,  were  reduced 
in  numbers  and  no  longer  held  fortified  towns  from  which  they 
could  defy  the  king's  officers.  Richelieu  and  Mazarin  had  suc- 
cessfully taken  a  hand  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  France 
had  come  out  of  it  with  enlarged  territory  and  increased  impor- 
tance in  European  affairs. 

Louis  XIV  carried  the  w^ork  of  these  great  ministers  still  The  govern- 
farther.    He  gave  that  form  to  the  French  monarchy  which  it   Louis  xiv 
retained  until  the  French  Revolution.    He  made  himself  the  very 
mirror  of  kingship.    His  marvelous  court  at  Versailles  became 

6S1 


682  Outlines  of  European  History 

the  model  and  the  despair  of  other  less  opulent  and  powerful 
princes,  who  accepted  his  theory  of  the  absolute  power  of  kings 
but  could  not  afford  to  imitate  his  luxury.  By  his  incessant  wars 
he  kept  Europe  in  turmoil  /or  over  half  a  century.  The  dis- 
tinguished generals  who  led  his  newly  organized  troops,  and  the 
wily  diplomats  who  arranged  his  alliances  and  negotiated  his 


Fig.  234.    Louis  XIV 

treaties,  made  France  feared  and  respected  by  even  the  most 
powerful  of  the  other  European  states. 
The  theory  Louis  XIV  had  the  same  idea  of  kingship  that  James  I  had 

of  the  ....  fc>       r  J 

"  divine  right  tried  in  vain  to  induce  the  English  people  to  accept.  God  had 
France^  '"  given  kings  to  men,  and  it  was  His  will  that  monarchs  should 
be  regarded  as  His  lieutenants  and  that  all  those  subject  to 
them  should  obey  theni  absolutely,  without  asking  any  questions 
or  making  any  criticisms  ;  for  in  submitting  to  their  prince  they 
were  really  submitting  to  God  Himself.    If  the  king  were  good 


>a  ,1  d 


OF 


'      ^^  o  r  t  h 


D. 


EUROPE 


WHEN   LOUIS   XIV.   BEGAN 
HIS  PEKSONAE  GOVEKN3IENT/ 

1661 

I  I  Spanish  Possessions 


I  I  Austrian  Possessions 

^sssi'^s!^;  Boundary  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  f 
0  100  200  300 


Versaille 


FraiicliL-  (Mlnttia 


K  I  ^  G  D  Oi3l\p 


fli    pi 


A  N  C  El 


J 


(Papal) 


«e 


K 


Madrid 


^Gli 


9JM 


Op> 


E      I)       I 


and  French 
nations 
toward 
absolute 


France  luider  Loids  XIV  683 

and  wise,  his  subjects  should  thank  the  Lord ;  if  he  proved 
foolish,  cruel,  or  perverse,  they  must  accept  their  evil  ruler  as 
a  punishment  which  God  had  sent  them  for  their  sins.  But  in 
no  case  might  they  limit  his  power  or  rise  against  him.^ 

Louis  XIV  had  two  great  advantages  over  James  L  In  the  Different 
first  place,  the  English  nation  has  always  shown  itself  far  more  the  English 
reluctant  than  France  to  place  absolute  power  in  the  hands  of  its 
rulers.  By  its  Parliament,  its  courts,  and  its  various  declarations 
of  the  nation's  rights,  it  had  built  up  traditions  which  made  it  monarchy 
impossible  for  the  Stuarts  to  establish  their  claim  to  be  absolute 
rulers.  In  France,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was  no  Great 
Charter  or  Bill  of  Rights ;  the  Estates  General  did  not  hold  the 
purse  strings,  and  the  king  w^as  permitted  to  raise  money  without 
asking  their  permission  or  previously  redressing  the  grievances 
which  they  chose  to  point  out.  They  were  therefore  only  sum- 
Tinoned  at"  irregular  intervals.  When  Louis  XIV  took  charge  of 
the  government,  forty-seven  years  had  passed  without  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Estates  General,  and  a  century  and  a  quarter  was 
still  to  elapse  before  another  call  to  the  representatives  of  the 
nation  was  issued  in  1789. 

Moreover,  the  French  people  placed  far  more  reliance  upon 

a  powerful  king  than  the  English,  perhaps  because  they  were 

not  protected  by  the  sea  from  their  neighbors,  as  England  was. 

On  every  side  France  had  enemies  ready  to  take  advantage  of 

any  weakness  or  hesitation  which  might  arise  from  dissension 

between  a  parliament  and  the  king.    So  the  French  felt  it  best, 

on  the  whole,  to  leave  all  in  the  king's  hands,  even  if  they 

suffered  at  times  from  his  tyranny. 

Louis  had  another  great  advantage  over  James.    He  was  a   Personal 

.  character- 

handsome  man,  of  elegant  and  courtly  mien  and  the  most  ex-  istics  of 

quisite  perfection  of  manner ;   even  when  playing  billiards  he   ^^"^^  ^^^ 

is  said  to  have  retained  an  air  of  world  mastery.    The  first  of 

1  Louis  XIV  does  not  appear  to  have  himself  used  the  famous  expression  "  /am 
the  State^^''  usually  attributed  to  him,  but  it  exactly  corresponds  to  his  idea  of 
the  relation  of  the  king  and  the  State. 


684 


Outlijics  of  Europe aji  Histoiy 


The  strenu- 
ous life  of  a 
despotic 
ruler 


the  Stuarts,  on  the  contrar)^,  was  a  vety  awkward  man,  whose 
slouching  gait,  intolerable  manners,  and  pedantic  conversation 
were  utterly  at  variance  with  his  lofty  pretensions.  Louis  added, 
moreover,  to  his  graceful  exterior  a  sound  judgment  and  quick 
apprehension.  He  said  neither  too  much  nor  too  little.  He 
was,  for  a  king,  a  hard  worker  and  spent  several  hours  a  day 
attending  to  the  business  of  government. 

It  requires,  in  fact,  a  great  deal  of  energy  and  application  to 
be  a  real  despot.   In  order  thoroughly  to  understand  and  to  solve 


Fig.  235.    Facade  of  the  Palace  of  Versailles 


the  problems  which  constantly  face  the  ruler  of  a  great  state,  a 
monarch  must,  like  Frederick  the  Great  or  Napoleon,  rise  early 
and  toil  late.  Louis  XIV  was  greatly  aided  by  the  able  min- 
isters who  sat  in  his  council,  but  he  always  retained  for  himself 
the  place  of  first  minister.  He  would  never  have  consented  to 
be  dominated  by  an  adviser,  as  his  father  had  been  by  Richelieu. 
"  The  profession  of  the  king,"  he  'declared,  "  is  great,  noble, 
and  delightful  if  one  but  feels  equal  to  performing  the  duties 
which  it  involves,"  —  and  he  never  harbored  a  doubt  that  he 
himself  was  born  for  the  business. 


France  imder  Louis  XIV 


685 


Section  122.  How  Louis  encouraged  Art  and 
Literature 

Louis  XIV  was  careful  that  his  surroundings  should  suit  the  The  king's 
grandeur  of  his  office.    His  court  was  magnificent  beyond  any-  v^ersaiUes 
thing  that  had  been  dreamed  of  in  the  West.   He  had  an  enor- 
mous palace  constructed  at  Versailles,  just  outside  of  Paris, 
with    interminable   halls    and    apartments    and   a  vast  garden 


Fig.  236.    One  of  the  Vast  Halls  of  Versailles 

stretching  away  behind  it.  About  this  a  town  was  laid  out, 
where  those  who  were  privileged  to  be  near  his  majesty  or 
supply  the  wants  of  the  royal  court  lived.  This  palace  and 
its  outlying  buildings,  including  two  or  three  less  gorgeous 
residences  for  the  king  when  he  occasionally  tired  of  the  cere- 
mony of  Versailles,  probably  cost  the  nation  about  a  hundred 
million  dollars,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  thousands  of  peasants 
and  soldiers  were  forced  to  turn  to  and  work  without  pay. 
The  furnishings  and  decorations  were  as  rich  and  costly  as  the 
palace  was  splendid  and  still  fill  the  visitor  with  wonder.    For 


686 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Life  at 
Louis  XIV 
court 


over  a  century  Versailles  continued   to   be  the   home  of  the 
PYench  kings  and  the  seat  of  their  government. 

This  splendor  and  luxury  helped  to  attract  the  nobility,  who 
no  longer  lived  on  their  estates  in  well-fortified  castles,  plan- 
ning how  they  might  escape  the  royal  control.  They  now  dwelt 
in  the  effulgence  of  the  king's  countenance.  I'hey  saw  him  to 
bed  at  night  and  in  stately  procession  they  greeted  him  in  the 
morning.    It  was  deemed  a  high  honor  to  hand  him  his  shirt  as 


Fig.  237.    Facade  of  the  Palace  of  Versailles  toward 
THE  Gardens 


The  reforms 
of  Colbert 


he  was  being  dressed  or,  at  dinner,  to  provide  him  with  a  fresh 
napkin. ,  Only  by  living  close  to  the  king  could  the  courtiers 
hope  to  gain  favors,  pensions,  and  lucrative  offices  for  them- 
selves and  their  friends,  and  perhaps  occasionally  to  exercise 
some  little  influence  upon  the  policy  of  the  government.  For 
they  were  now  entirely  dependent  upon  the  good  will  of  their 
monarch. 

The  reforms  which  Louis  XIV  carried  out  in  the  earlier  part 
of  his  reign  were  largely  the  work  of  the  great  financier  Colbert, 
to   whom   France   still   looks  back  with  gratitude.     He   early 


France  Tinder  Louis  XIV  687 

discovered  that  the  king's  officials  were  stealing  and  wasting  vast 
sums.  The  offenders  were  arrested  and  forced  to  disgorge,  and 
a  new  system  of  bookkeeping  was  introduced,  similar  to  that 
employed  by  business  men.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to 
increasing  the  manufactures  of  France  by  establishing  new  in- 
dustries and  seeing  that  the  older  ones  kept  to  a  high  standard, 
which  w^ould  make  French  goods  sell  readily  in  foreign  markets. 
He  argued  justly  that  if  foreigners  could  be  induced  to  .buy 
French  goods,  these  sales  would  bring  gold  and  silver  into  the 
country  and  so  enrich  it.  He  made  rigid  rules  as  to  the  width 
and  quality  of  cloths  which  the  manufacturers  might  produce 
and  the  dyes  which  they  might  use.  He  even  reorganized  the 
old  medieval  guilds ;  for  through  them  the  government  could 
keep  its  eye  on  all  the  manufacturing  that  was  done  ;  this  would 
have  been  far  more  difficult  if  every  one  had  been  free  to  carry 
on  any  trade  which  he  might  choose. 

It   was,   however,   as    a    patron   of   art  and   literature   that   Art  and  liter- 
Louis  XIV  gained  much  of  his  celebrity.    Moliere,  who  was  at   i-gio-n  of 
once  a  playwright  and  an  actor,  delighted  the  court  with  come-   -^^"^^  -"^^"^ 
dies  in  which  he  delicately  satirized  the  foibles  of  his  time. 
Corneille,  who  had  gained  renown  by  the  great  tragedy  of  The 
Cid  in  Richelieu's  time,  found  a  worthy  successor  in  Racine,  the 
most  distinguished,  perhaps,  of  French  tragic  poets.   The  charm- 
ing letters  of  Madame  de  Se'vigne'  are  models  of  prose  style  and 
serve  at  the  same  time  to  give  us  a  glimpse  into  the  more  refined 
life  of  the  court  circle.    In  the  famous  memoirs  of  Saint-Simon, 
the  weaknesses  of  the  king,  as  well  as  the  numberless  intrigues 
of  the  courtiers,  are  freely  exposed  with  inimitable  skill  and  wit. 

Men  of  letters  were  generously  aided  by  the  king  with  pen-  The  govern- 
sions.  Colbert  encouraged  the  French  Academy,  which  had  [he"develop- 
been  created  bv  Richelieu.  This  body  gave  special  attention  to  ^^""^  ?V^^*^ 
making  the  French  tongue  more  eloquent  and  expressive  bv   guage  and 

1^,111  IT-  1  '     literature 

determmmg  what  words  should  be  used.  It  is  now  the  greatest 
honor  that  a  Frenchman  can  obtain  to  be  made  one  of  the 
forty  members  of  this  association.    A  magazine  which  still  exists, 


688 


0?itli?ics  of  European  History 


the  Jour?ial  des  Savants,  was  founded  for  the  promotion  of 
science  at  this  time.  Colbert  had  an  astronomical  observatory 
built  at  Paris;  and  the  Royal  Library,  which  only  possessed 
about  sixteen  thousand  volumes,  began  to  grow  into  that  great 
collection  of  two  and  a  half  million  volumes  —  by  far  the  largest 
in  existence  —  which  to-day  attracts  scholars  to  Paris  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  In  short,  Louis  XIV  and  his  ministers  be- 
lieved one  of  the  chief  objects  of  any  government  to  be  the  pro- 
motion of  art,  literature,  and  science,  and  the  example  they  set 
has  been  followed  by  almost  every  modem  state. 


Louis  XIV's 

warlike 

enterprises 


He  aims  to 
restore  the 
'■  natural 
boundaries ' 
of  France 


Section  123.  Louis  XIV  attacks  his  Neighbors 

Unfortunately  for  France,  the  king's  ambitions  were  by  no 
means  exclusively  peaceful.  Indeed,  he  regarded  his  wars  as  his 
chief  glory.  He  employed  a  carefully  reorganized  army  and  the 
skill  of  his  generals  in  a  series  of  inexcusable  attacks  on  his  neigh- 
bors, in  which  he  finally  squandered  all  that  Colbert's  economies 
had  accumulated  and  led  France  to  the  edge  of  financial  ruin. 

Louis  XIV's  predecessors  had  had,  on  the  whole,  little  time 
to  think  of  conquest.  They  had  first  to  consolidate  their  realms 
and  gain  the  mastery  of  their  feudal  dependents,  who  shared  the 
power  with  them ;  then  the  claims  of  the  English  Edwards  and 
Henrys  had  to  be  met,  and  the  French  provinces  freed  from 
their  clutches  ;  lastly,  the  great  religious  dispute  was  only  settled 
after  many  years  of  disintegrating  civil  war.  But  Louis  XI\^ 
was  now  at  liberty  to  look  about  him  and  consider  how  he 
might  best  realize  the  dream  of  his  ancestors  and  perhaps  rees- 
tablish the  ancient  boundaries  which  Caesar  reported  that  the 
Gauls  had  occupied.  The  "  natural  limits  "  of  France  appeared 
to  be  the  Rhine  on  the  north  and  east,  the  Jura  Mountains  and 
the  Alps  on  the  southeast,  and  to  the  south  the  Mediterranean 
and  the  Pyrenees.  Richelieu  had  believed  that  it  was  the  chief 
end  of  his  ministry  to  restore  to  France  the  boundaries  deter- 
mined for  it  by  nature.    Mazarin  had  labored  hard  to  win  Savoy 


France  under  Loins  XIV  689 

and  Nice  and  to  reach  the  Rhine  on  the  north.  Before  his 
death  France  at  least  gained  Alsace  and  reached  the  Pyrenees, 
"which,"  as  the  treaty  with  Spain  says  (1659),  ''formerly 
divided  the  Gauls  from  Spain." 

Louis  XIV  first  turned  his  attention  to  the  conquest  of  the   Louis  xiv 
Spanish  Netherlands,  to  which  he  laid  claim  through  his  wife,  the   the^ Spanish^ 
elder  sister  of  the  Spanish  king,  Charles  II  (1665-1700).    In   ^Netherlands 
1667  he  surprised  Europe  by  publishing  a  little  treatise  in  which 
he  set  forth  his  claims  not  only  to  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  but 
even  to  the  whole  Spanish  monarchy.    By  confounding  the  king- 
dom, of  France  with  the  old  empire  of  the  Franks  he  could  main- 
tain that  the  people  of  the  Netherlands  were  his  subjects. 

Louis  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  army  which  he  had  The  invasion 
re-formed  and  reorganized,  and  announced  that  he  was  to  under-  "ands,  1667^^" 
take  a  "  journey,"'  as  if  his  invasion  was  only  an  expedition  into 
another  part  of  his  undisputed  realms.  He  easily  took  a  num- 
ber of  towns  on  the  border  of  the  Netherlands  and  then  turned 
south  and  completely  conquered  Franche-Comte.  This  was 
an  outlying  province  of  Spain,  isolated  from  her  other  lands, 
and  a  most  tempting  morsel  for  the  hungry  king  of  France.^ 

These  conquests  alarmed  Europe,  and  especially  Holland, 
which  could  not  afford  to  have  the  barrier  between  it  and  France 
removed,  for  Louis  XIV  would  be  an  uncomfortable  neighbor. 
A  Triple  Alliance,  composed  of  Holland,  England,  and  Sweden, 
was  accordingly  organized  to  induce  France  to  make  peace  with 
Spain.  Louis  contented  himself  for  the  moment  with  the  dozen 
border  towns  that  he  had  taken  and  which  Spain  ceded  to  him 
on  condition  that  he  would  return  Franche-Comte'. 

The  success  with  which  Holland  had  held  her  own  against   Louis  xiv 
the  navy  of  England  and  brought  the  proud  king  of  France   the\>ipkj 
to  a  halt  produced  an  elation  on  the  part  of  that  tiny  country   '^J!'^"^^  ^"^ 
which  was  very  aggravating  to  Louis  XIV.    He  was  thoroughly   self  with 
vexed    that   he   should    have   been  blocked    by  so   trifling  an   England 
obstacle  as  Dutch  intervention.    He  consequently  conceived  a 

1  See  above,  pp.  573  and  649. 


690 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Louis  XI\"s 
invasion  of 
Holland,  1672 


Peace  of 

Nimwegen, 
1678 


Louis  XIV 

seizes 

Strassburg 


Strong  dislike  for  the  United  Provinces,  which  was  increased 
by  the  protection  that  they  afforded  to  writers  who  annoyed 
him  with  their  attacks.  He  broke  up  the  Triple  Alliance  by 
inducing  Charles  II  of  England  to  conclude  a  treaty  which 
pledged  England  to  help  France  in  a  new  war  against  the  Dutch. 

Louis  XIV  then  startled  Europe  again  by  seizing  the  duchy  of 
Lorraine,  which  brought  him  to  the  border  of  Holland.  At  the 
head  of  a  hundred  thousand  men  he  crossed  the  Rhine  (1672) 
and  easily  conquered  southern  Holland.  For  the  moment  the 
Dutch  cause  appeared  to  be  lost.  But  William  of  Orange  showed 
the  spirit  of  his  great  ancestor  William  the  Silent ;  the  sluices 
in  the  dikes  were  opened  and  the  country  flooded,  so  the  French 
army  was  checked  before  it  could  take  Amsterdam  and  advance 
into  the  north.  The  Emperor  sent  an  army  against  Louis,  and 
England  deserted  him  and  made  peace  with  Holland. 

When  a  general  peace  was  concluded  at  the  end  of  six  years, 
the  chief  provisions  were  that  Holland  should  be  left  intact,  and 
that  France  should  this  time  retain  Franche-Comte',  which  had 
been  conquered  by  Louis  XIV  in  person.  This  bit  of  the 
Burgundian  heritage  thus  became  at  last  a  part  of  France, 
after  France  and  Spain  had  quarreled  over  it  for  a  century 
and  a  half.  For  the  ten  years  following  there  was  no  open 
war,  but  Louis  seized  the  important  free  city  of  Strassburg  and 
made  many  other  less  conspicuous  but  equally  unwarranted  ad- 
ditions to  his  territor}\  The  Emperor  was  unable  to  do  more  than 
protest  against  these  outrageous  encroachments,  for  he  was  fully 
occupied  with  the  Turks,  who  had  just  laid  siege  to  Vienna. 


Section  124.    Louis  XIV  and  his  Protestant 
Subjects 

Situation  of  Louis  XIA^  exhibited  as  woeful  a  want  of  statesmanship  in 

no^ts  at'fhe  the  treatment  of  his  Protestant  subjects  as  in  the  prosecution 

LmiiTxfv^s  ^^  disastrous  wars.    The  Huguenots,  deprived  of  their  former 

reign  military  and  political  power,  had  turned  to  manufacture,  trade. 


France  tindei'  Lo7tis  XIV  691 

and  banking ;  "  as  rich  as  a  Huguenot  "  had  become  a  proverb 
in  France.  There  were  perhaps  a  million  of  them  among  fifteen 
million  Frenchmen,  and  they  undoubtedly  formed  by  far  the 
most  thrifty  and  enterprising  part  of  the  nation.  The  Catholic 
clergy,  however,  did  not  cease  to  urge  the  complete  suppression 
of  heresy. 

Louis  XIV  had  scarcely  taken  the  reins  of  government  into  Louis's 
his  own  hands  before  the  perpetual  nagging  and  injustice  to  pressLn  ^"^ 
which  the  Protestants  had  been  subjected  at  all  times  took  a 
more  serious  form.  Upon  one  pretense  or  another  their  churches 
were  demolished.  Children  were  authorized  to  renounce  Prot- 
estantism when  they  reached  the  age  of  seven.  Rough  dragoons 
were  quartered  upon  the  Huguenots  with  the  hope  that  the  in- 
sulting behavior  of  the  soldiers  might  frighten  the  heretics  into 
accepting  the  religion  of  the  king. 

At  last  Louis  XIV  was  led  by  his  officials  to  believe  that  prac-  Revocation 
tically  all  the  Huguenots  had  been  converted  by  these  harsh  of  Nantes  and 
measures.  In  1685,  therefore,  he  revoked  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  its  results 
and  the  Protestants  thereby  became  outlaws  and  their  ministers 
subject  to  the  death  penalty.  Even  liberal-minded  Catholics, 
like  the  kindly  writer  of  fables,  La  Fontaine,  and  the  charming 
letter  writer,  Madame  de  Sevigne,  hailed  this  reestablishment 
of  "  religious  unity  "  with  delight.  They  believed  that  only  ^n 
insignificant  and  seditious  remnant  still  clung  to  the  beliefs  of 
Calvin.  But  there  could  have  been  no  more  serious  mistake. 
Thousands  of  the  Huguenots  succeeded  in  eluding  the  vigi- 
lance of  the  royal  officials  and  fled,  some  to  England,  some  to 
Prussia,  some  to  America,  carrying  with  them  their  skill  and  in- 
dustry to  strengthen  France's  rivals.  This  was  the  last  great 
and  terrible  example  in  western  Europe  of  that  fierce  religious 
intolerance  which  had  produced  the  Albigensian  Crusade,  the 
Spanish  Inquisition,  and  the  Massacre  of  St.   Bartholomew. 

Louis  XIV  now  set  his  heart  upon  conquering  the  Palatinate,    Louis's 
a  Protestant  land,  to  which  he  easily  discovered  that  he  had  a  Jhe^RhenLh" 
claim.   The  rumor  of  his  intention  and  the  indignation  occasioned   Palatinate 


692  Outlines  of  Europe lvi  History 

in  Protestant  countries  by  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes 
resulted  in  an  alliance  against  the  French  king  headed  by  William 
of  Orange.  Louis  speedily  justified  the  suspicions  of  Europe  by 
a  frightful  devastation  of  the  Palatinate,  burning  whole  towns  and 
destroying  many  castles,  including  the  exceptionally  beautiful 
one  of  the  elector  at  Heidelberg.  Ten  years  later,  however, 
Louis  agreed  to  a  peace  which  put  things  back  as  they  were 
before  the  struggle  began.  He  was  preparing  for  the  final  and 
most  ambitious  undertaking  of  his  life,  which  precipitated  the 
longest  and  bloodiest  war  of  all  his  warlike  reign. 

Section  125.    War  of  the  Spanish  Succession 

The  question        The  king  of  Spain,  Charles  II,  was  childless  and  brotherless, 
i'sh  succession   and  Europe  had  long  been  discussing  what  would  become  of  his 
vast  realms  when  his  sickly  existence  should  come  to  an  end. 
Louis  XIV  had  married  one  of  his  sisters,  and  the  Emperor, 
Leopold  I,  another,  and  these  two  ambitious  rulers  had  been 
considering  for  some  time  how  they  might  divide  the  Spanish 
possessions  between  the  Bourbons  and  the  Hapsburgs.     But 
when  Charles  II  died,  in  1700,  it  was  discovered  that  he  had 
left  a  will  in  which  he  made  Louis's  younger  grandson,  Philip, 
the  heir  to  his  twenty-two  crowns,  but  on  the  condition  that 
France  and  Spain  should  never  be  united. 
Louis's  grand-       It  was  a  weighty  question  whether  Louis  XIV  should  permit  his 
becomes ^^'      grandson  to  accept  this  hazardous  honor.    Should  Philip  become 
s  "am"^  king  of  Spain,  Louis  and  his  family  would  control  all  of  south- 

western Europe  from  Holland  to  Sicily,  as  well  as  a  great  part 
of  North  and  South  America.  This  would  mean  the  establish- 
ment of  an  empire  more  powerful  than  that  of  Charles  V.  It 
was  clear  that  the  disinherited  Emperor  and  the  ever  watchful 
William  of  Orange,  now  king  of  England  (see  above,  p.  678), 
would  never  permit  this  unprecedented  extension  of  French 
influence.  They  had  already  shown  themselves  ready  to  make 
great  sacrifices  in  order  to  check  far  less  serious  aggressions  on 


Fra7ice  under  Louis  XIV  693 

the  part  of  the  French  king.  Nevertheless,  family  pride  and 
personal  ambition  led  Louis  criminally  to  risk  the  welfare  of 
his  country.  He  accepted  the  will  and  informed  the  Spanish 
ambassador  at  the  French  court  that  he  might  salute  Philip  V 
as  his  new  king.  The  leading  French  newspaper  of  the  time 
boldly  proclaimed  that  the  Pyrenees  were  no  more. 

King  William  soon  succeeded  in  forming  a  new  Grand  Alii-  The  War  of 
ance  (1701)  in  which  Louis's  old  enemies,  England,  Holland,  sm;cession 
and  the  Emperor,  were  the  most  important  members.  William 
himself  died  just  as  hostilities  were  beginning,  but  the  long 
War  of  the  Spanish  Succession  was  carried  on  vigorously  by 
the  great  English  general,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  and  the 
Austrian  commander,  Eugene  of  Savoy.  The  conflict  was  more 
general  than  the  Thirty  Years'  War;  even  in  America  there  was 
fighting  between  French  and  English  colonists,  which  passes  in 
American  histories  under  the  name  of  Queen  Anne's  War.  All 
the  more  important  battles  went  against  the  French,  and  after 
ten  years  of  war,  which  was  rapidly  ruining  the  country  by  the 
destruction  of  its  people  and  its  wealth,  Louis  XIV  was  willing 
to  consider  some  compromise,  and  after  long  discussion  a  peace 
was  arranged  in  17 13. 

The-Ii:©aty-t7f"Utrecht  changecTlRe'lii^p  of  Europe  as  no  The  Treaty 
previous  treaty  had  done,  not  even  that  of  Westphalia.  Each  j^^^  ^^"^  ' 
of  the  chief  combatants  got  his  share  of  the  Spanish  booty  over 
which  they  had  been  fighting.  The  Bourbon  Philip  V  was  per- 
mitted to  retain  Spain  and  its  colonies  on  condition  that  the 
Spanish  and  French  crowns  should  never  rest  on  the  same 
head.  To  Austria  fell  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  hereafter  called 
the  Austrian  Netherlands,  which  continued  to  form  a  barrier 
between  Holland  and  France.  Holland  received  certain  for- 
tresses to  make  its  position  still  more  secure.  The  Spanish 
possessions  in  Italy,  that  is,  Naples  and  Milan,  were  also  given 
to  Austria,  and  in  this  way  Austria  got  the  hold  on  Italy  which 
it  retained  until  1866.  From  France,  England  acquired  Nova 
Scotia,   Newfoundland,  and   the  Hudson    Bay  region,  and  so 


mcnt  of  in 
ternational 
law 


694  Ojitlincs  of  European  History 

began  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  North  America.  Besides 
these  American  provinces  she  received  the  rock  and  fortress  of 
Gibraltar,  which  still  gives  her  command  of  the  narrow  entrance 
to  the  Mediterranean. 

The  develop-  The  period  of  Louis  XIV  is  remarkable  for  the  development 
of  international  law.  The  incessant  wars  and  great  alliances 
embracing  several  powers  made  increasingly  clear  the  need  of 
well-defined  rules  governing  states  in  their  relations  with  one 
another  both  in  peace  and  in  war.  It  was  of  the^  utmost 
importance  to  determine,  for  instance,  the  rights  of  ambassa- 
dors and  of  the  vessels  of  neutral  powers  not  engaged  in  the 
war,  and  what  should  be  considered  fair  conduct  in  warfare 
and  in  the  treatment  of  prisoners. 

Grotius's  War  The  first  great  systematic  treatise  on  international  law  was 
published  by  Grotius  in  1625,  when  the  horrors  of  the  Thirty 
Years'  War  were  impressing  men's  minds  with  the  necessity  of 
finding  some  means  other  than  war  of  settling  disputes  between 
nations.  While  the  rules  laid  down  by  Grotius  and  later  writers 
have,  as  we  must  sadly  admit,  by  no  means  put  an  end  to  war, 
they  have  prevented  many  conflicts  by  increasing  the  ways  in 
which  nations  may  come  to  an  understanding  with  one  another 
through  their  ambassadors  without  recourse  to  arms. 

Louis  XIV  outlived  his  son  and  his  grandson  and  left  a 
sadly  demoralized  kingdom  to  his  five-year-old  great-grandson, 
Louis  XV  (17 1 5-1 774).  The  national  treasury  was  depleted, 
the  people  were  reduced  in  numbers  and  were  in  a  miserable 
state,  and  the  army,  once  the  finest  in  Europe,  was  in  no 
condition  to  gain  further  victories. 

We  have  now  reviewed  the  long  history  of  western  Europe 
from  the  remote  period  when  the  makers  of  the  fist-hatchet 
wandered  naked  through  the  tropical  jungles  which  then  covered 
France  to  the  days  when  Louis  XIV  and  his  elegant  courtiers 
rolled  in  their  splendid  coaches  amid  the  carefully  tended  gar- 
dens and  sparkling  fountains  of  Versailles.    It  is  the  story  of 


France  uudc?-  Louis  XIV  695 

fifty  thousand  }'ears.  In  the  following  volume  we  shall  have 
but  two  hundred  years  to  traverse  —  a  moment  only  in  the 
history  of  mankind,  but  fraught  with  sueh  momentous  changes 
that  they  seem  almost  to  eclipse  all  those  that  occurred  be- 
tween the  building  of  the  pyramids  and  the  erection  of  the 
palace  of  Versailles.  The  whole  world  has  now  been  explored 
by  Europeans  and  has  become  so  closely  united  in  interest  that 
a  war  between  two  European  powers  endangers  the  happiness 
of  people  in  the  most  distant  portions  of  the  globe.  The  science 
which  began  to  fiourish  in  the  reign  of  Louis  Xl\'  has  not  only 
revolutionized  our  conception  of  the  universe  but  it  has,  through 
modern  inventions,  so  altered  our  lives  and  ideals  that  we  seem 
to  live  in  a  different  world  from  that  of  the  early  eighteenth 
century.  It  is  the  purpose  of  Part  II  of  the  OutJincs  to  show 
the  nature  and  progress  of  these  changes,  to  put  us  in  a  posi- 
tion to  understand  the  great  problems  which  now  face  mankind, 
and  to  encourage  us  to  do  our  part  in  solving  them. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  121,  What  did  Richelieu  accomplish  in  strengthening 
the  French  monarchy.'*  What  were  Louis  XIV's  ideas  of  kingship.^ 
Why  did  the  French  view  the  "  divine  right  of  kings  "  differently 
from  the  English.^  Contrast  Louis  XIV  with  James  I. 

Section  i  22.  Describe  the  palace  of  Versailles.  What  were  the 
chief  reforms  of  Colbert.^  Mention  some  of  the  great  writers  of 
Louis  XIV's  time.  How  did  the  government  aid  scholarship  and 
science  } 

Section  i  23.  What  led  Louis  XI V  to  attack  his  neighbors .?  What 
are  the  "  natural "  boundaries  of  France  ?  What  country  did  Louis  first 
attack  ?  What  additions  did  he  make  to  French  territory  1 

Section  124.  What  was  the  policy  of  Louis  XIV  toward  the 
Huguenots?  Who  were  Louis  XIV's  chief  enemies? 

Section  125.  What  were  the  causes  of  the  War  of  the  Spanish 
Succession  ?  What  were  the  chief  changes  provided  for  in  the  Treaty 
of  Utrecht? 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

It  is  not  the  aim  of  this  bibliography  to  mention  all  of  even  the  im- 
portant books  in  various  languages  that  relate  to  the  period  in  question. 
The  writers  are  well  aware  that  teachers  are  busy  people  and  that  high- 
school  libraries  and  local  public  libraries  usually  furnish  at  best  only  a 
few  historical  works.  It  is  therefore  most  important  that  those  books 
should  be  given  prominence  in  this  list  which  the  teacher  has  some 
chance  of  piocuring  and  finding  the  time  to  use.  It  not  infrequently 
happens  tJiat  the  best  account  of  a  particular  period  or  topic  is  in  a  for- 
eign language  or  in  a  rare  publication,  such  as  a  doctor's  dissertation, 
which  could  only  be  found  in  one  of  our  largest  libraries.  All  such  titles, 
however  valuable,  are  omitted  from  this  list.  They  can  be  found  men- 
tioned in  all  the  more  scholarly  works  in  the  various  fields. 


PART  I 

EARLIEST  MAN,  THE  ORIENT,  GREECE  AND  ROME 

The  ancient  world  seems  so  remote  and  unreal  to  the  young  student 
who  is  taking  it  up  for  the  first  time  that  it  is  very  necessary  to  empha- 
size strongly  the  reality  of  man's  early  career.  This  can  be  done  in  a 
number  of  ways,  but  most  effectively  by  visualization.  If  a  class  of  high- 
school  boys  and  girls  could  be  taken  through  the  British  Museum  and 
shown  the  tools  and  implements  used  by  early  man,  the  letters  dictated 
by  Hammurapi  to  his  secretary  and  written  on  clay  in  2100  B.C.,  and  the 
letters  written  by  Roman  citizens  in  the  days  when  the  apostles  were 
preaching  early  Christianity ;  or  if  they  could  enter  the  National  Museum 
at  Cairo  and  look  into  the  very  flesh  and  blood  faces  of  Egyptian  kings 
who  ruled  the  Orient  centuries  before  Moses  lived ;  or  if  our  young 
people  could  visit  the  Berlin  Museum  and  see  there,  cut  in  stone,  relief 
pictures  of  the  Egyptian  ships  which  sailed  the  Mediterranean  in  the 
thirtieth  century  B.C.,  there  would  be  little  difficulty  in  impressing  these 
visitors  with  the  reality  of  the  ancient  world,  and  the  importance  of  the 
inheritance  which  the  early  world  has  left  us. 

697 


698  Outlines  of  European  History 

In  lieu  of  such  museum  visits,  or  travels  among  ancient  cities,  the 
treatment  of  the  ancient  world  in  this  book  has  been  very  plentifully 
sprinkled  with  illustrations  to  supplement  the  text.  The  fact  cannot  be 
too  strongly  emphasized  that  a  careful  study  of  the  illustrations  belongs 
to  every  lesson  assigned.  The  explanatory  matter  under  each  figure  should 
be  thoroughly  studied  in  connection  with  the  accompanying  text,  and 
full  discussion  of  every  illustration  and  its  description  should  regularly 
be  required  of  the  class.  Outside  illustrative  matter  ought  also  to  be 
used.  The  best  collection  of  such  materials  will  be  found  in  the  Under- 
wood stereoscopic  views,  to  the  various  series  of  which,  references  will 
be  found  below  in  their  proper  places. 

As  a  result  of  the  difficulty  of  the  subject  and  the  very  rapid  progress 
of  discovery  and  research,  there  are  relatively  few  books  on  prehistoric 
man  and  the  early  Orient  which  are  not  either  entirely  out  of  date  or 
quite  unsuited  for  use  by  younger  students,  or  even  by  their  teachers. 
Especially  in  the  important  matter  of  chronology  most  of  the  current 
books  are  quite  out  of  date.  Let  the  teacher  note  particularly  that  the 
enormously  remote  dates  for  Babylonian  history  once  current  have  been 
given  up  by  all  the  leading  Orientalists  in  view  of  recent  conclusive 
evidence.  Our  oldest  written  documents  in  Babylonia  are  not  older 
than  the  thirty-first  century  B.C.  Fortunately  interest  in  Bible  study 
has  brought  forth  a  very  useful  group  of  books  in  Palestinian  history ; 
hence  the  larger  number  of  titles  in  this  department  below.  In  Greek 
and  Roman  history  too,  where  written  sources  are  more  plentiful  and 
modern  study  of  the  subject  has  made  further  progress,  the  available 
books  are  better  and  far  more  numerous. 

A  small  high-school  library  on  the  ancient  world,  of  moderate  cost, 
including  a  standard  book  or  two  on  each  main  period  or  topic,  has  been 
indicated  in  the  following  list  by  a  dagger  (t)  before  each  title  to  be 
included.  All  books  with  a  star  (*)  are  suited  chiefly  for  the  teacher, 
and  are  rather  advanced  for  the  student. 


CHAPTER  I 

*SoLLAS,  Ancient  Hunters.  \Ty'LO'^,  Primitive  Culture.  tHoERNES, 
Primitive  Man.  tMvRES,  The  Dawn  of  History^  chaps,  i-ii,  vii-xi.  An 
excellent  little  book  in  which  only  the  traditional  Babylonian  chronology 
needs  revision.  *SiR  John  Lubbock  (Lord  Avebury),  Prehistoric 
Times. 


Bibliography 


699 


CHAPTER  II 


Breasted,  History  of  Egypt.  fBREASTED,  History  of  the  Ancient 
Egyptians,  *Hall,  The  Aficient  History  of  the  A^ear  East,  chaps,  ii-iv, 
vi-viii. 

tMASPERO,  Art  in  Egypt.  A  useful  little  manual  in  Ars  una  —  species 
7nille.  (Hachette  &  Cie,  and  Scribner's,  New  York.)  *Maspero,  Manual 
of  Egyptian  Archceotogy.    (Last  edition,  191 4.    Putnam's.) 

*Breasted,  The  Development  of  Religion  and  Thought  iii  Ancieiit 
Egypt. 

tERMAN,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt. 

Edwards,  Pharaohs,  Fellahs,  and  Explorers.  Petri E,  Ten  Years^ 
Digging  in  Egypt.  Weigall,  Treasury  of  the  Nile.  A  quarterly  journal 
begun  in  19 14,  called  Anciejit  Egypt,  edited  by  Petrie,  reports  all 
discoveries  as  fast  as  made.  ($2.00  a  year;  subscriptions  taken  by 
Dr.  V/.  C.  Winslow,  525  Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Mass.) 

^Breasted,  Ancioit  Records  of  Egypt.  Vols.  I-V.  jPetrie,  Egyptian 
Tales. 

The  Underwood  &  Underwood  Series  of  Egyptian  views,  edited  by 
Breasted,  Egypt  through  the  Stereoscope :  a  fotu-ney  through  the  Latid 
of  the  Pharaohs  (100  views  wdth  explanatory  volume  and  set  of  maps). 
See  remarks  above,  p.  698.  t (Selected  views,  with  explanations  printed 
on  the  backs,  may  be  secured  at  moderate  cost.  The  most  useful  fifteen 
on  Egypt  are  Nos.  17,  27,  29,  30,  31,  42,  48,  52,  57,  60,  62,  69,  82,  89,  97.) 


A.  Histories 


B.  Art  and 
archaeology 


C.  Mythology 
and  religion 

D.  Social  life 

E.  Excava- 
tion and 
discovery 


F.  Original 
sources  in 
English 

G.  The  mon- 
uments as 
they  are  to- 
day. 


CHAPTER  III 


*KlNG,  History  of  Stimer  and  Akkad.  tGoODSPEED,  History  of  the  A.  Histories 
Babylonians  and  Assyrians.  Recent  discoveries  have  greatly  altered  the 
chronology.  Later  results  will  be  found  in  fJoHNS,  C.  H.  W.,  Ancient 
Babylonia  (Cambridge  Manuals) ;  t  Johns,  C.  H.  W.,  Ancient  Assyria 
(Cambridge  Manuals)  ;  *Hall,  The  Ancient  History  of  the  N'ear  East, 
chaps.  V,  X,  xii ;  *Olmstead,  Sargon  of  Assyria ;  *RgGERS,  A  History 
of  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 

There  is  no  handbook  corresponding  to  Maspero's  Art  in  Egypt. 
*Handcock,  Mesopotamian  Archaeology.  *Hall,  The  Ancie7tt  History 
of  the  N'ear  East.  tGooDSPEED,  History  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyri- 
ans (see  index). 

*Jastrow,  Aspects  of  Religious  Belief  and  Practice  in  Babylonia  and 
Assyria. 

tSAYCE,  Babylonian  and  Assy^-iaJt  Life  a7td  Customs. 


B.  Art  and 
archaeology 


C.  Mythology 
and  religion 

D.  Social  life 


700 


Oittlines  of  Ej  trap  can  History 


E.   Excava- 
tion and 
discovery 


F.  Original 
sources  in 
English 


Rogers,  A  History  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  Vol.  I.  There  is  no 
journal  exclusively  devoted  to  reports  of  discoveries  in  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  (like  Ancient  Egypt  above),  but  see  the  new  journal  of  the 
American  Archaeological  Institute,  called  Art  and  ArchcBology  {^2.00 
a  year;  subscriptions  taken  by  The  Macmillan  Company,  64-66  Fifth 
Avenue,  New  York).  This  journal  reports  discovery  in  the  whole  field 
of  ancient  man. 

*Harper,  R.  F.  (Editor),  Assyrian  and  Baby lotiian  Literature.  tBOTS- 
FORD,  A  Source  Book  of  Ancient  History,  chap.  iii.  *Sayce  (Editor), 
Records  of  the  Past.  First  Series,  1 2  vols. ;  Second  Series,  6  vols,  t  JohnS; 
Oldest  Code  of  Laws  iit  the  World  (Laws  of  Hammurapi).  *King,  Letters 
of  Hammurapi.  The  buildings  surviving  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria  are 
in  a  state  so  ruinous  that  photographs  of  them  would  not  be  instructive 
to  the  young  student  (see  pp.  63  f.  and  82  ;  cf.  Fig.  47).  Hence  we 
give  no  references  for  the  monuments  as  they  are  to-day. 


A.  Histories 


B.  Art  and 
archaeology 

C.  Mythology 
and  religion 

D.  Social  Hfe 

E.  Explora- 
tion and 
discovery 


F.  Original 
sources  in 
English 


CHAPTER  IV 
I.  Persian  Empire 

There  is  no  good  modem  history  of  Persia  in  English  based  on  the 
sources,  but  see  especially  :  IBenjamin,  Story  of  Persia  (Story  of  the 
Nations  Series).  Meyer,  "  Persia,"  in  Encyclopcedia  Britannica.  Raw- 
LINSON,  Five  Great  Monarchies :  Persia.  *Hall,  The  Ancient  History 
of  the  Near  East,  chap.  xii. 

Perrot  and  Chipiez,  History  of  Art :  Persia.    Rawlinson. 

Meyer,  "  Persia,"  in  Encyclopcedia  Britannica.    Rawlinson. 

Ravv^linson. 

t Jackson,  Persia,  Past  and  Present.  This  valuable  book  is  the  best 
introduction  to  the  subject  of  Persia  as  a  whole,  and  contains  much 
information  on  all  the  above  subjects.  tMiCHAELis,  A.  Century  of 
Archceological  Discovery. 

tToLMAN,  The  Behistan  Lnscription  of  King  Darius.  The  Persian 
monuments  are  not  numerous,  and  this  inscription  of  Behistun  is  the 
most  important.  A  considerable  part  of  it  will  be  found  quoted  in 
BOTSFORD,  A  Sotcrce  Book  of  Ancient  LListory,  pp.  57-59.  The  Avesta 
will  be  found  in  the  series  called  Sacred  Books  of  the  East. 


2.  Palestine  and  the  Hebrews 

A.  Histories  Smith,  George  Adam,  The  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land^ 
The  most  valuable  of  the  many  books  on  Palestine,  but  a  little  advanced 
for  high-school  pupils.    *Smith,  Henry  Preserved,  Old  Testament 


Bibliography 


701 


Histo7'y.  *CoRNlLL,  History  of  the  People  of  Israel.  fKENT,  History  oj 
the  Hebrew  People.  tKENT,  History  of  the  Jewish  People.  *Hall,  The 
Aficient  History  of  the  Near  East,  chap.  ix.  tMACALiSTER,  A  History 
of  Civilization  in  Palestine  (Cambridge  Manuals). 

*BuDDE,  The  Religion  of  Israel  to  the  Exile.  *Cylyn^Y.,  Jewish  Reli- 
gious Life  after  the  Exile.  fSMiTH,  J.  M.  Powis,  The  Prophet  and  his 
Problems  (Scribner's). 

HiLPRECHT,  Recent  Research  in  Bible  Laiids.  tMACALiSTER,  A  His- 
tory of  Civilization  in  Palestine  (Cambridge  INIanuals).  Current  reports 
will  be  found  in  Joiirfial  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  and  in  Art 
and  Archceology  (see  above). 

Day,  Social  Life  of  the  Hebrews. 

The  Old  Testament  in  the  Revised  Version.  tMooRE,  The  Literature 
of  the  Old  Testament.  *Cornill,  Introdnction  to  the  Canonical  Books  of 
the  Old  Testament.  Rogers,  Cimeifoi-m  Parallels  to  the  Old  Testame7it. 
tBoTSFORD,  A  Source  Book  of  Ancient  History.,  chap.  iv. 

The  Underwood  &  Underwood  Stereoscopic  Photographs,  edited  by 
HuRLBUT,  Traveling  in  the  Holy  Land  through  the  Stereoscope  (100 
views  with  guidebook  and  maps).  See  remarks  above  in  Preface,  p.  v. 
I  (A  selection  of  the  best  ten  w^ould  include  Nos.  8,  9,  18,  25,  39,  40,  41, 
47,  61,  71.)  Smith,  George  Adam,  The  Historical  Geography  of  the 
Holy  Land.    Paton,  Guide  to  Jerusaletn. 


B.  Mythology 
and  religion 


C.  Excava- 
tion and 
discovery 

D.  Social 
life 

E.  Original 
sources  in 
English 


F.  Palestine, 
its  people  and 
monuments 
as  they  are 
to-day 


CHAPTER  V 

jBoTSFORD,  Orient  and  Greece.,  chap.  i.  Goodspeed,  Ancient  World,  A.  Histories 
pp.  70-79.  Westermann,  Aitcient  N'ations,  chap.  vii.  Kimball-Bury, 
Students'  Greece,  chap.  i.  Bury,  History  of  Greece,  chap.  i.  Allcroft 
and  Stout,  Early  Grecian  History,  chaps,  i,  iii,  v.  Woodhouse, 
Tuto7'ial  History  of  Greece,  chaps,  i-iv.  tBAiKiE,  J.,  Sea  Kings  of  Crete. 
tHAWES,  C.  H.  and  H,  B.,  Crete  the  Forerunner  of  Greece. 


CHAPTER  VI 


tBOTSFORD,  Orient  and  Greece,  chaps,  ii-v.  Goodspeed,  Aitcient  A.  Histories 
World,  pp.  79-125.  Westermann,  Ancietit  Nations,  chaps,  viii-xi. 
Kimball-Bury,  Students''  Greece,  pp.  33-40  and  chaps,  iv-vi.  Oman, 
History  of  Greece,  chaps,  ix-xii.  Woodhouse,  Tutorial  History  of  Greece, 
chaps,  v-xv.  Allcroft  and  Stout,  Early  Grecian  History,  chaps,  iv 
and  vi-xvii.  Allcroft  and  Masom,  Histoiy  of  Sicily,  chaps,  i-ii.  Bury, 
History  of  Greece,  chaps,  iii-v. 


702 


Outlines  of  European  History 


B.  Sources 
and  source 
selections 


Short  selections  in  fBoTSFORD,  Source  Book  of  Ancient  History^ 
chaps,  vii-xiv ;  fFLlNG,  Source  Book  of  Greek  History ;  Davis,  Readings 
in  Ancient  History,  Vol,  I,  chaps. iv-v;  Appleton,  Greek  Poets  in  Eng- 
lish Verse;  Perry,  From  the  Garden  of  Hellas,  t Homer,  Iliad,  trans- 
lated by  Lang,  Leaf,  and  Myers  (prose),  and  Bryant  (verse).  fHoMER, 
Odyssey,  translated  by  Butcher  and  Lang  (prose),  and  Bryant  (verse). 
Homeric  Hynuis,  translated  by  Lang  (prose).  Hesiod  and  Theognis, 
translated  by  various  authors  in  prose  and  verse  in  Bohn  Library. 
tHERODOTUS,  Histories,  best  translation  by  Rawlinson  (Everyman's 
Library).  Aristotle,  Cofistittdion  of  Athens,  translated  by  Poste  or 
Kenyon,  chaps,  i-xxii.  jPlutarch,  Lives  of  Theseus,  Solon,  and 
Lycurgus.    Xenophon,  State  of  the  Lacedcemonians. 


CHAPTER  VII 


A.  Histories 


B.  Sources 
and  source 
selections 


tBoTSFORD,  Orient  and  Greece,  chaps,  vi-ix ;  also  all  books  given 
above  under  Chapter  VI,  A. 

Short  extracts  in  IBotsford,  Source  Book  of  Ancient  History,  chaps, 
xv-xviii;  t Fling,  Source  Book  of  Greek  History;  Davis,  Readings  in 
Ancient  History,  Vol.  I,  pp.  130-21 7.  fTHUCYDlDES,  translated  by  Jowett 
(selections  to  be  made  by  teacher).  Aristotle,  Constitution  of  Athens, 
chaps,  xxii-xxviii.  t Plutarch,  Lives  of  Aristides,  Themistocles,  Pausa- 
nias,  Cimon,  Pericles.  tSelections  from  ^schylus  and  Sophocles  in 
Appleton,  Greek  Poets,  and  Goldwin  Smith,  Specimens  of  Greek 
Tragedy. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


A.  Histories 


B.  Sources 
and  source 
selections 


IBotsford,  Orient  and  Greece,  chaps,  ix-xiv ;  also  all  books  given 
above  under  Chapter  VI,  A. 

Short  extracts  in  IBotsford,  Source  Book  of  Ancient  History,  chaps, 
xix-xxiii;  IFling,  Source  Book  of  Greek  Histojy;  Davis,  Readings  in 
Ancient  History,  Vol.  I,  pp.  217-284.  Aristotle,  Constitution  of  Athens, 
chaps,  xxix-lxiii.  Xenophon,  Hellenica,  Anabasis,  and  Cyropcedia, 
translated  by  Dakyns  (selections  to  be  made  by  the  teacher).  A  nev(r 
translation  of  the  Cyropcedia  in  the  Loeb  Classical  Series.  IPlutarch, 
Lives  of  Alcibiades,  Pelopidas,  Timoleon.  I  Plato,  Apology,  selections 
on  the  death  of  Socrates  (Bohn  Library).  Nepos,  Life  of  Epaminondas. 
Aristophanes,  Achamians  and  Birds,  translated  by  Frere,  in  Every- 
man's Library,  Selections  from  Euripides  in  Appleton,  Greek  Poets,  and 
Goldwin  Smith,  Specimens  of  Greek  Tragedy  (2  vols.). 


Bibliography 


703 


CHAPTER  IX 

tBoTSFORD,  Orient  and  Greece,  chaps,  xv-xvi ;  also  all  books  given    A.  Histories 
above  under  Chapter  VI,  A. 

Short  extracts  in  tBoTSFORD,  Sojirce  Book  of  Ancient  History,  chaps, 
xxiv-xxvii ;  t  Fling,  Source  Book  of  Greek  Histo7y  ;  Davis,  Readings  in 
Ancient  History,  Vol.  I,  pp.  285-341.  tPLUTARCH,  Lives  of  Demosthenes, 
Phocion,  Alexander,  Philopoemen,  and  Aratus.  Justin,  History,  Bk.  IX 
(Bohn  Library).  Arrian,  Anabasis  of  Alexander  (Bohn  Library). 
tDEMosTHENES,  Oration  on  the  Crown,  and  the  Third  Philippic. 


B.  Sources 
and  source 
selections 


A  Few  Additional  Reference  Works  on  Ancient  Greece 
AND  THE  Hellenistic  Age,  arranged  topically 

A  full  list  of  such  works  will  appear  in  the  author's  History  of  the 
Early  World,  to  be  published  in  191 5. 

tBuRY,  J.  B.,  A  History  of  Greece. 

tGuLiCK,  C.  B.,  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks.  IMahaffy,  J.  P.,  Old 
Greek  Life.    BliJmner,  H.,  Home  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks. 

tGREENlDGE,  A.  H.  J.,  Handbook  of  Greek  Constitutional  LListory. 
Gardner  and  Jevons,  Manual  of  Greek  Antiquities. 

tFAiRBANKS,  A.,  Handbook  of  Greek  Religion.  Fairbanks,  A., 
Mythology  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 

tBAlKlE,  J.,  Sea  Kings  of  Crete.  fTARBELL,  History  of  Greek  Art. 
Fowler  and  Wheeler,  Greek  Archceology. 

tjEBB,  Greek  Literature,  t Murray,  G.,  LListory  of  Ajicient  Greek 
Literature,    t MARSHALL,  Short  History  of  Greek  Philosophy. 

GuLiCK,  LJfe  of  the  Ancie?tt  Greeks,  chaps,  xvii-xviii. 

tMlCHAELls,  A  Century  of  Archaeological  Discoveries.  Periodic  re- 
ports of  current  discoveries  will  be  found  in  the  magazine  called  Art 
and  .Irchisology  (see  above,  p.  700). 

The  Underwood  &  Underwood  Series  of  Stereoscopic  Photographs  of 
Greece  and  its  Monuments,  edited  by  Richardson,  Greece  tlirough  the 
Stereoscope  (100  views  with  guidebook  and  maps  ;  a  short  description  is 
also  printed  on  the  back  of  each  view).  See  remarks  above,  p.  v. 
(A  selection  of  fifteen  of  the  most  useful  views  comprises  Nos.  i,  8,  21, 
35'  39'  42,  48,  54'  62,  64,  77,  80,  87,  96,  97.) 


A.  General 
and  political 
history 

B.  Social  life 

C.  Constitu- 
tional history 

D.  Mythology 
and  religion 

E.  Art  and 
archaeology 

F.  Literature 
and  philos- 
ophy 

G.  Economic 
development 
//.  Explora- 
tion and 
discovery 

/.  The  monu- 
ments as  they 
are  to-day 


CHAPTER  X 

tBoTSFORl),    History   of  Rome,   chaps,    i-viii.     Goodspeed,    Ancient    A.  Histories 
World,  pp.  276-428.   Westermann,  Ancient  Nations,  chaps,  xxiii-xxxiv. 
Fairley-Seignobos,    History    of  the    Roman    People,    chaps,    i-xvii. 


704 


Outlines  of  Eii7'opean  History 


B.  Sources 
and  source 
selections 


Seignobos,  Ancient  Civilization,  chaps,  xvii-xxiii.  FoWLER,  Rome^ 
chaps,  i-vii.  Pelham,  Outlines  of  Roman  History,  pp.  3-397.  t  Abbott, 
Short  History  of  Rome,  pp.  1-179.  Heitland,  Short  History  of  the 
Roman  Republic.  Liddell,  History  of  Rome  (to  31  B.C.).  How  and 
Leigh,  History  of  Rome  to  the  Death  of  CcBsar.  Allcroft  and  Masom, 
Rome  under  the  Oligarchs,  202-1  jj  b.c.  Masom  and  Woodhouse,  His- 
tory of  Rome,  jgo-202  b.c.  Masom,  Decline  of  the  Oligarchy,  133-^8  B.C. 
Allcroft,  Making  of  the  Monarchy,  78-31  b.c. 

Short  extracts  in  fBoTSFORp,  Story  of  Rome,  chaps,  i-viii ;  jMuNRO, 
Source  Book  far  Roman  History,  chaps,  i-viii ;  Davis,  Readings  in 
Ancient  History,  Vol.  II,  pp.  1-166;  tBoTSFORD,  Sojirce  Book  of  Ancient 
History,  chaps,  xxviii-xxxvii ;  Hardy,  Six  Rotnan  Laws.  Sources  in 
tLiVY,  Histories  (Everyman's  Library) ;  Appian,  History,  ti-anslated  by 
White;  fPLUTARCH,  Lives  of  Romulus,  Numa,  Pyrrhus,  Sulla,  Marius, 
Cicero,  Caesar,  translated  by  Clough  (Everyman's  Library) ;  Polybius, 
Histories,  translated  by  Shuckburgh ;  Cicero,  Letters,  translated  by 
Shuckburgh ;  tCyESAR,  Commentaries  (Bohn  Library);  Nepos,  L.ives 
(Bohn  Library). 


CHAPTER  XI 


A.  Histories 


B.  Sources 
and  source 
selections 


tBoTSFORD,  Roman  History,  chaps,  ix-xiii.  Davis,  Outli>ie  History  of 
the  Roman  Etnpire.  Jones,  H.  S.,  Story  of  the  RoDian  Empire.  Bury,  Ro- 
man EjHpire  (to  180  A.D.).  Allcroft  and  Haydon,  Early  Principate. 
Also  the  books  mentioned  above  under  Chapter  X,  A. 

Short  extracts  in  tMuNRO,  Source  Book  of  Roman  History,  chaps, 
ix-xii ;  Davis,  Readings  in  Ancie7ti  History,  Vol.  II,  pp.  167-309  ;  tBoTS- 
FORD,  Story  of  Rome,  chaps,  viii-xi ;  fBoTSFORD,  Source  Book  of  Ancient 
Histo7y,  chaps,  xxxviii-xlii. 


A  Few  Additional  Reference  Works  on  Ancient  Rome, 

ARRANGED    TOPICALLY 


A  full  list  of  such  works  will  appear  in  the  author's  History  of  the 
Early  World. 

A.  General  jBuRY,  J.  B.,  Roman  Empire  (to  180  A.D.).   Jones,  H.  S.,  The  Roman 
and  political        t^      ,  ■       ^         z 

history  Empire  to  476  a.d. 

B.  Social  life        t  ABBOTT,  F.  F.,  Cofn?non  People  of  Ancient  Rome,    t  Abbott,  F.  F., 

C.  Constitu-      Society  and  Politics  in  Ajicient  Rome,    t  Johnston,  H.  W.,  Private  Life 
tionaland  of  the  Romans. 

institutional        -^ 

histoiy  IGreenidge,  a.  H.  J.,  Roman  Public  LJfe. 


Bibliography 


705 


IFairbanks,  a.,  Mythology  of  Greece  and  Rome.  tGRANGER,  A., 
Worship  of  the  Romans. 

tMAU  and  Kelsey,  Pompeii,  its  Life  and  Art.  IPlatner,  Topography 
and  Monuments  of  Ancient  Rotne. 

IMackail,  Latin  Literature.  Fowler,  History  of  Roman  Literature. 
fFARRAR,  F.  W.,  Seekers  after  God. 

IDavis,  W.  S.,  Lnfiuence  of  Wealth  in  Lmperial  Rome.  IMattingly, 
Lmperial  Civil  Service. 

MiCHAELls,  A  Century  of  Archceological  Discoveries.  Periodic  reports 
from  the  field  in  the  magazine  called  Art  and  Archaeology  (see  above, 
p.  700). 

The  Underwood  &  Underwood  Series  of  Stereoscopic  Photographs 
of  Rome  and  Italy,  edited  by  Ellison  and  Egbert,  Ltaly  through  the 
Stereoscope  (lOO  views  with  explanatory  volume  and  set  of  maps).  See 
above,  p.  v.  (A  selection  of  the  most  useful  fifteen  views  comprises 
Nos.  21,  23,  25,  27,  30,  T,z^  34,  43,  45,  46,  47,  58,  60,  62,  91.) 


D.  Mythology 
and  religion 

E.  Art  and 
archaeology 

F.  Literature 
and  philos- 
ophy 

G.  Economic 
development 

H.  Explora- 
tion and 
discovery 

/.  The  monu- 
ments as  they 
are  to-day 


PART  II 

FROM  THE   BREAK-UP   OF  THE   ROMAN   EMPIRE 

TO   THE   OPENING  OF  THE   EIGHTEENTH 

CENTURY 

CHAPTER  XII 


The  best  short  account  of  the  barbarian  invasions  is  Emerton, 
Lntrodnction  to  the  Middle  Ages,  chaps,  i-vii.  Oman,  The  Dark  Ages, 
gives  a  somewhat  fuller  narrative  of  the  events.  Adams,  G.  B.,  Civiliza- 
tion durijig  the  Middle  Ages,  chaps,  i,  ii,  iv,  and  v,  discusses  the  general 
conditions  and  results. 

The  textbook  and  the  collateral  reading  should  always  be  supple- 
mented by  examples  of  contemporaneous  material.  Robinson,  Readings 
in  European  History,  Vol.  I  (from  the  barbarian  invasions  to  the  opening 
of  the  sixteenth  century)  and  Vol.  II  (from  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth 
century  to  the  present  day),  arranged  to  accompany  chapter  by  chapter 
the  author's  Lntrodnction  to  the  History  of  Western  Europe,  will  be  found 
especially  useful  in  furnishing  extracts  which  reenforce  the  narrative 
together  with  extensive  bibliographies  and  topical  references.  This 
compilation  will  be  referred  to  hereafter  simply  as  Readings. 

I 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 

Readings  in 

European 

History 


7o6 


Outlines  of  European  History 


C.  Historical 
atlases 


D.  Additional 
reading 


For  extracts  relating  to  the  barbarian  invasions,  see  Readings,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  28-55  '  O'^G,  A  Source  Book  of  Mediceval  History,  chaps,  i-iv.  Much 
more  extensive  are  the  extracts  given  in  Hayes,  C.  H.,  An  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Sources  relating  to  the  Germanic  Invasions,  i^o()  (Columbia 
University  Studies  in  History,  Economics,  and  Public  Law,  Vol.  XXXIII, 
No.  III). 

Constant  use  should  be  made  of  good  historical  atlases.  By  far  the  best 
and  most  convenient  for  the  high  school  is  Shepherd,  Wm,  R.,  Histori- 
cal Atlas,  191 1  (see  maps  43,  45,  48,  50-52).  Dow,  Earle  E.,  Atlas  of 
European  History,  1907,  also  furnishes  clear  maps  of  the  chief  changes. 

HoDGKiN,  the  author  of  an  extensive  work  in  eight  volumes  on  Italy 
and  her  Invaders,  has  written  two  small  works,  Dyttasty  of  Theodosius 
and  Theodoric  the  Goth.  Sergeant,  7>^<? /^rd!«>('j,  may  be  recommended. 
Every  historical  student  should  gain  some  acquaintance  with  the  cele- 
brated historian  Gibbon.  Although  his  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire  was  written  about  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  it  is  still  of  great 
interest  and  importance  and  is  incomparable  in  its  style.  The  best 
edition  is  published  by  The  Macmillan  Company,  with  corrections  and 
additions  by  a  competent  modern  historian,  J.  B.  Bury.  The  Cambridge 
MedicEval  History,  by  various  writers,  now  in  course  of  publication,  devotes 
its  first  volume  to  the  period  in  question. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


CHAPTER  Xin 

There  are  no  very  satisfactory  short  accounts  of  the  development  of 
the  papacy.  One  must  turn  to  the  church  histories,  which  are  written 
by  either  Catholics  or  Protestants  and  so  differ  a  good  deal  in  their  in- 
terpretation of  events.  One  may  refer  to  Fisher,  History  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  (Protestant),  or  Alzog,  Manual  of  Universal  Church 
Histoj-y  (Catholic).  Milman,  History  of  Latin  Christianity,  although 
old,  is  scholarly  and  readable  and  to  be  found  in  many  good  libraries. 
Cambridge  Mediceval  History,  Vol.  I,  chaps,  iv,  vi.  Newman,  Matiual 
of  Church  History,  Vol.  I  (Protestant). 

Readings,  Vol.  I,  pp.  14-27  and  chap.  iv.  By  far  the  best  collection 
of  illustrative  sources  is  to  be  found  in  Ayer,  J.  C,  A  Source  Book  of 
Ancient  Chtirch  History,   19 13. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

A.  General  The  church  histories  referred  to  above  all  have  something  to  say  of 

reading  the  monks.    There  is  an  excellent  chapter  on  monasticism  in  Taylor, 

Henry  O.,  Classical  Heritage  of  the  Middle  Ages,  chap.  vii.    See  also  a 
little  book  by  the  famous  church  historian  Harnack,  Monasticisjn. 


Bibliography 


707 


B.  Source 
material 


Readings,  chap.  v.  There  is  a  Life  of  St.  Cohimban,  written  by  one  of 
his  companions,  which,  although  short  and  simple  in  the  extreme,  fur- 
nishes a  better  idea  of  the  Christian  spirit  of  the  sixth  century  than  the 
longest  treatise  by  a  modern  writer.  This  life  may  be  found  in  Traiisla- 
tions  and  Reprints,  Vol.  II,  No.  7,  translated  by  Professor  Munro.  The 
chief  portions  of  the  Benedictine  Rule  may  be  found  in  Henderson, 
E.  F.,  Select  Historical  Documents  of  the  Middle  Ages,  pp.  74  ff.  and  in 
Thatcher  and  McNeal,  A  Source  Book  for  Me  diceva  I  History,  pp.  432  ff. 
See  map,  pp.  46-47,  in  Shepherd,  Historical  Atlas,  showing  spread  of 
Christianity  in  Europe. 

Cambridge  Medieval  History,  Vol.  II,  chap.  xvi.  The  most  complete 
history  of  the  monks  is  by  the  French  writer  Montalembert,  The 
Monks  of  the  West  frofjt  St.  Benedict  to  St.  Bernard,  which  has  been 
translated  into  English  (6  vols.).  The  writer's  enthusiasm  and  excellent 
style  make  the  work  very  attractive. 

For  Mohammed  and  the  Saracens,  Thatcher  and  Schwill,  Europe 
in  the  Middle  Age,  chap.  xv.  Oilman,  The  Saracens.  GiBBON  has  a 
famous  chapter  on  Mohammed  and  another  on  the  conquests  of  the 
Arabs.  These  are  the  fiftieth  and  fifty-first  of  his  great  work.  Cambj-idge 
Mediceval  Histoty,  Vol.  II,  chaps,  x-xii. 

It  is  not  hard  to  find  a  copy  of  one  of  the  English  translations  of  the 
Koran.  See  brief  extracts  in  Readings  and  in  Ogg,  Source  Book  of 
Mediceval  History,  pp.  97  ff.  Stanley  Lane-Poole,  Speeches  and 
Table   Talk  of  Mohammed,  is  very  interesting. 

MuiR,  Life  of  Moha?nmed.  Ameer  Ali,  The  Life  and  Teachings  of 
Mohammed,  a  Short  History  of  the  Saracens,  by  one  who  sympathizes 
with  them. 

CHAPTER  XV 

Emertox,  Lntroduction  to  the  Middle  Ages,  chaps,  xii-xiv.    Bryce,  A.  General 

Holy  Roman  Empire,  chaps,  iv-v.    Henderson,  History  of  Gerinany  in  reading 
the  Middle  Ages,  chaps,  iv-v.    Oman,  Dark  Ages,  chaps,  xix-xxii. 

/headings,  pp.  120-125  and  chap.  vii.    Duncalf  and  Krey,  Parallel  B.  Source 

Source  Problems  in  Mediceval  History,  pp.  3-26.  material 

HoDGKiN,  Charles  the  Great,  a  small  volume.    Mombert,  A  History  C.  Additional 

of  Charles  the  Great,  the  most  extensive  treatment  in  English.    Cai?ibridge  ""^^"'"S 
Mediceval  History,  Vol.  II,  chaps,  xviii-xix. 


C.  Additional 
reading 


D.  Moham- 
med and  his 
followers 


E.  Source 
material 


F.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Emerton,  Lntroduction  to  the  Middle  Ages,  chap.  xv.    Oman,  Dark    A.  General 
^^^j-,  chaps,  xxiii-xxv.    YJ^IL^TO^,  Mediceval  Europe,  Q\i2^^.yivi.    Adams,    reading 
Civilizatioti  during  the  Middle  Ages,  chap.  ix. 


7o8 


Outlines  of  EiLvopean  History 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Readings,  chaps,  viii-ix.  Ogg,  Source  Book  of  Mediceval  History, 
chap.  X.  Thatcher  and  McNeal,  A  Source  Book  for  Mediceval  History, 
pp.  341-417- 

Seignobos,  Feiidal  Regime  (excellent).  See  "  Feudalism,"  in  Encyclo- 
pcedia  Britannica,  nth  ed.  Ingram,  History  of  Slavery  and  Serfdom,  espe- 
cially chaps,  iv-v.   Cheyney,  Industrial  and  Social  History  of  England. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  XVII 

There  are  a  number  of  convenient  general  histories  of  England  during 
the  Middle  Ages  which  can  be  used  to  supplement  the  short  account 
here  given :  Cheyney,  Short  History  of  England;  Green,  Short  History 
of  the  English  People ;  Cross,  A.  L.,  yi  History  of  England  and  Greater 
Britain,  chaps,  iv-xviii ;  Andrews,  Charles  M.,  History  of  England; 
Terry,  History  of  England;  and  a  number  of  others.  For  France, 
Adams,  G.  B.,  Growth  of  the  French  Nation  ;  Duruy,  History  of  France. 

Readings,  chaps,  xi,  xx.  There  are  several  source  books  of  English 
history  :  Cheyney,  Readings  in  English  History,  chaps,  iv-xii ;  CoLBY, 
Selections  from  the  Sources  of  English  History ;  Lee,  Source-Book  of 
English  History;  Kendall,  Source  Book  of  English  History. 

There  is,  of  course,  a  great  deal  more  available  in  English  relating  to 
English  history  than  to  the  history  of  the  continental  countries.  One 
will  find  plenty  of  references  to  the  more  extensive  works  in  any  of  the 
books  mentioned  above. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Emerton,  MedicEval  Europe,  chaps,  iii-x.  Henderson,  E.  F.,  History 
of  Germany  in  the  Middle  Ages.  A  clear  and  scholarly  account  of  the 
whole  period. 

Readings,  Vol.  I,  chaps,  xii-xiv.  Duncalf  and  Krey,  Parallel  Source 
Problems  in  Medi<rval  History,  Problem  II  (Canossa).  Thatcher  and 
McNeal,  A  Source  Book  for  Mediaeval  History,  Section  III,  pp.  132-259. 

Tout,  The  Empire  and  the  Papacy,  with  chief  attention  to  the 
strictly  political  history.  Bryce,  Holy  Roman  Empire,  chaps.  viii--xi. 
Excellent  maps  for  the  period  will  be  found  in  Shepherd,  Historical 
Atlas. 


A.  General 
reading 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Emerton,  Mediceval  Europe,  chap.  xi.  Tout,  The  Ef?ipire  and  the 
Papacy,  chaps,  vii,  viii,  xiii,  xiv,  xix.  Adams,  Civilization  during  the 
Middle  Ages,  chap,  xi,  for  discussion  of  general  results. 


Bibliography 


709 


Readings,  chap.  xv.    Thatcher  and   McNeal,   A   Source  Book  for    B.  Source 
MedicBval  History,  Section  IX,  pp.  510-544.     Translations  and  Reprints    rnatenal 
published  by  the  Department  of  History  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Vol.  I,  Nos.  2,  4,  and  Vol,  III,  No.  i. 

Archer  and  Kingsford,  The  Crusades.    Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall   C.  Additional 
of  the  Rotnan  Empire,  chaps.  Iviii-lix.     See  "  Crusades,"  in  Encyclo-    ^^^  ^"^ 
pcEdia  Britannica,   nth  ed. 


CHAPTER   XX 

The  available  material  on  this  important  subject  is  rather  scattered. 
The  author  gives  a  somewhat  fuller  account  of  the  Church  in  his 
Western  Europe,  chaps,  xvi,  xvii,  xxi.  See  good  chapter  in  Emerton, 
MedicBval  Europe,  chap.  xvi.  Special  topics  can  be  looked  up  in  the 
Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  the  Catholic  Encyclopcsdia,  or  any  other  good 
encyclopedia. 

Readings,  Vol.  I,  chaps,  xvi,  xvii,  xxi.  Thatcher  and  McNeal, 
A  Source  Book  for  Mediceval  History,  contains  many  important  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  Church. 

CUTTS,  Parish  Priests  and  their  People.  The  opening  chapter  of  Lea, 
A  History  of  the  hiquisition  of  the  Middle  Ages,  gives  a  remarkable 
account  of  the  medieval  Church  and  the  abuses  which  prevailed.  The 
first  volume  also  contains  chapters  upon  the  origin  of  both  the  Francis- 
can and  Dominican  orders.  For  St.  Francis  the  best  work  is  Sabatier, 
St.  Francis  of  Assisi.  See  also  Gasquet,  English  Monastic  Life;  Jes- 
SOPP,  The  Coming  of  the  Friars,  and  Other  Historic  Essays;  Creighton, 
Historv  of  the  Papacy,  introductory  chapter. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  XXI 


Emerton,  Mediceval  Ejirope,  chap.  xv.  Historians  are  so  accustomed 
to  deal  almost  exclusively  with  political  events  that  one  looks  to  them 
in  vain  for  much  information  in  regard  to  town  life  in  the  Middle  Ages 
end  is  forced  to  turn  to  special  works:  Gibbins,  History  of  Commerce, 
best  short  account  with  good  maps;  Cunningham,  Western  Civilization 
in  its  Economic  Aspects,  Vol.  II;  Cheyney,  Industrial  and  Social  His- 
tory of  England',  GiBBiNS,  Industrial  History  of  England;  Day,  C, 
History  of  Commerce ;  Luchaire,  Social  Life  in  the  Time  of  Philip 
Augustus.  Symonds,  Age  of  Despots,  gives  a  charming  account  of  town 
life  in  Italy  in  its  more  picturesque  aspects.  Hamlin,  History  of  Archi- 
tecture, good  introduction.  Good  account  of  early  discoveries  in  Cam- 
bridge Modern  History,  Vol.  I,  chaps,  i-ii. 


A.  General 
reading 


7IO 


Outlines  of  European  History 


B.  Source 
material 


Readings,  Vol.  I,  chap,  xviii.  Ogg,  Source  Book  of  Aledicrval  History, 
chap.  XX.  Thatcher  and  McNeal,  A  Source  Book  for  Medi<rval  His- 
tory. Section  X,  pp.  545-61 2,  gives  many  interesting  documents.  Marco 
Polo's  account  of  his  travels  is  easily  had  in  English.  The  best  edition 
of  Travels  of  Sir  John  Maiideville  is  that  published  by  The  Macmillan 
Company,  because  it  contains  the  accounts  on  which  the  anonymous 
writer  of  the  travels  depended  for  his  information. 


A.  General 
reading 

B,  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Emerton,  Medicsval  Europe,  chap.  xiii.  Rashdall,  History  of  the 
Universities  in  the  Middle  Ages,  introductory  chapters. 

Readings,  Vol.  I,  chap.  xix.  Steele,  Mediieval  Lore,  extracts  from  an 
encyclopedia  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The  Song  of  Roland  is  trans- 
lated into  spirited  English  verse  by  O'Hagan.  The  reader  will  find  a 
beautiful  example  of  a  French  romance  of  the  twelfth  century  in  an 
English  translation  of  Aucassin  and  Nicolette.  Mr,  Steele  gives  charm- 
ing stories  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  in  Huon  of  Bordeaux, 
Renaud  of  IMontauban,  and  The  Story  of  Alexander.  Malory,  Mori 
d' Arthur,  a  collection  of  the  stories  of  the  Round  Table  made  in  the 
fifteenth  century  for  English  readers,  is  the  best  place  to  turn  for  these 
famous  stories.  Robinson  and  Rolfe,  Petrarch  (new  enlarged  edition, 
1914),  a  collection  of  his  most  interesting  letters.  Whitcomb,  Literary 
Source  Book  of  the  Ltalian  Renaissance.  Coulter,  Mediccval  Garner,  a. 
collection  of  selections  from  the  literary  sources. 

Saintsbury,  Flourishing  of  Romance,  a.  good  introduction  to  medieval 
literature.  Walsh,  The  Thirteenth,  the  Greatest  of  Centuries  (rather  too 
enthusiastic  in  its  claims).  Smith,  Justin  H.,  The  Troubadours  at  Hotne. 
Cornish,  Chivalry.  DeVinne,  Lnvention  of  Priiiting.  Putnam,  Books 
and  their  Makers  duri7ig  the  Middle  Ages.  Burckhardt,  The  Civiliza- 
tion of  the  Renaissance  in  Ltaly.    Van  Dyck,  The  History  of  Painting. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 

C.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Johnson,  Europe  in  the  Sixteenth  Century,  chaps,  i-ii.  Cambridge 
Modern  History,  Vol.  I,  chaps,  iv,  xi.  See  "  Charles  V,"  in  Encyclopiedia 
Britannica.    DuRUY,  History  of  France,  Ninth  and  Tenth  Periods. 

Readings,  Vol.  II,  chap,  xxiii. 

Cambridge  ALidern  History,  Vol.  II,  chap.  ii.  Dyer  and  Hassall, 
Modern  Europe  (a  political  history  of  Europe  in  6  vols.),  Vol.  I. 
Creighton,  Llistory  of  the  Papacy.  Pastor,  History  of  the  Popes, 
Vol.  V.    Bryce,  Lloly  Roman  E7)ipire,  chap.  xiv. 


reading 


BibliograpJiy  JW 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

See  fuller  account  in  Robinson,  History  of  Western  Europe,  chaps.    A.  General 
xxi,  xxiv-xxvi.    Henderson,  E.  F,,  Short  History  of  Germany.    John-    reading 
SON,  Europe  in  the  Sixteenth  Century,  chaps,  iii-v.    Lindsay,  History  of 
the  Reformation^N o\.  I.   See  "  Reformation,"  in  Encyclopaedia  Britannica, 
nth  ed. 

Readings,  Vol.  I,  chap,  xxi,  and  Vol.  II,  chaps,  xxiv-xxvi.    Wage  and    B.  Source 
BuCHHEiM    (Editors),   Luther's   Fri?nary    Works  and    The   Augsburg    "^^'^^"^^ 
Confession.    Whitcomb,  Source  Book  of  the  German  Renaissance. 

McGlFFERT,  Martin  Litther.    Beard,  Martin  Luther,  especially  in-    C.  Additional 
troductory  chapters  on  general  conditions.    Creighton,  LLisiory  of  the 
Papacy,   Vol.   VI.     Cambridge  Modern   History,  Vol.    I,   chaps.   i.\,   xix, 
and  Vol.   II,  chaps,  iv-viii.    Janssen,  History  of  the   German  People, 
Vols.  I-II.    Emerton,  Desiderius  Erastmcs,  very  interesting. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

Johnson,  Europe  in  the  Sixteenth  Century,  pp.  272  ff.    See  "  Zwingli  "    A.  (General 
and  "  Calvin,"  in  Encyc/optrdia  Britannica.    Chapters  on  the  changes    ^^^"^"g 
under  Henry  VIII  and  Edward  VI  will  be  found  in  all  general  histories  of 
England;  for  example,  Cheyney,  Short  History  of  England,  chap,  xii ; 
Cross,  A  History  of  England,  chaps,  xx-xxii ;  Green,  Short  History  of 
the  English  People,  chaps,  vi-vii. 

Readings,  chap,  xxvii.    Gee  and  Hardy,  Docufuents  Ilh'istrative  of     B.  .Source 
English   Church  History,  pp.   145  ff.,  very  useful  and  full.     Cheyney,    material 
Readings  in  English  History,  chap.  xii. 

Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  II,  chaps,  x-xi,  xiii-xv.    Jagkson,     C.  Additional 
S.  M.,  Huldreich  Zwingli.    Lindsay,  History  of  the  Refortnation,  Vol.  II,    reading 
Bk.  Ill,  chaps,  i-iii,  and  Bk.  IV.   Gasquet,  The  Eve  of  the  Reformation. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

Johnson,  Etirope  iji  the  Sixteenth  Century,  chaps,  vii-ix.   Wakemax,    a.  General 
European  History,  ijgS-iyi^,  chaps,  i-v.   The  portion  of  the  chapter    ''^^"'"g 
dealing  with  English  affairs  can  be  readily  supplemented  by  means  of  the 
general  histories  of  England,  Cheyney,  Cross,  Green,  Andrews,  etc. 

Readings,  Vol.  II,  chaps,  xxviii    xix.    Cheyney,  Readings  in  English    B.  Source 
Ldi story,  chap.  xiii.  material 


712 


Outlines  of  European  History 


C.  Additional        Catubridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  II,  chaps,  ix,  xvi,  xviii-xix;   Vol.  Ill, 
reading  chaps,   i,    vi-x,   xv,    xx ;    Vol.    IV,   chaps,    i,    iii-vi,   xiii-xiv.     LINDSAY, 

History  of  the  Reformation,  Vol   II,  Bk.  Ill,  chaps,  iv-v  and  Bk.  VI. 

Putnam,  Ruth,    IVilliatn  the  Silent.    Payne,    Voyages  of  Elizabethan 

Seainen    to   America,   Vol.    I.     Motley,   Rise   of  the   Dutch    Republic. 

Gi^D'Ei.Y,  History  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Cheyney,  Short  History  of  England,  chaps,  xiv-xvi.  Cross,  A.  His- 
tory of  England,  chaps,  xxvii-xxxv.  Green,  Short  History  of  the  English 
People,  chaps,  viii-ix. 

Readings,  chap.  xxx.  Cheyney,  Readi?tgs  in  English  History,  chaps, 
xiv-xvi.  Lee,  Source  Book  of  English  History,  Pt.  VI ;  Colby,  Selec- 
tions fr  0771  the  Sources  of  E7iglish  History,  Pt.  VI,  the  Stuart  Period. 
Gee  and  Hardy,  Docu77ie7its  IHustrative  of  E7iglish  Chu7-ch  History, 
pp.  508-664. 

Ca77ibridge  Moder7i  History,  Vol.  Ill,  chap,  xvii ;  Vol.  IV,  chaps, 
viii-xi,  XV,  xix ;  Vol.  V,  chaps,  v,  ix-xi.  Morley,  Oliver  Cromwell. 
Macaulay,  Essay  on  Milton.  Gardiner,  The  First  Two  Stuarts  a7id 
the  Puritan  Revolutio7t. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


A.  General 

reading 

B.  Source 
material 

C.  Additional 
reading 


Ca77ibridge  Moder7i  Histoiy,  Vol.  V,  chaps,  i-ii,  xiii-xiv.  Wakeman, 
Europe  fro77i  i^gS  to  lyij,  chaps,  ix-xi,  xiv-xv.  Duruy,  History  of 
France,  Thirteenth  Period.    Adams,  Groivth  of  the  Fre7ich  Nation. 

Readings,  Vol.  II,  chap.  xxxi. 

Perkins,  Fra/ice  U7ider  the  Rege7icy. 


INDEX 


Marked  letters  sound  as  in  far,  prudent,  move,  French  boh 


Abbeys,  dissolution  of,  in  Eng- 
land, 613 

Ab'e  lard,  545 

Abraham,  105 

Abu  Sim'bel,  Fig.  30  (op.  p.  49),  243 

Abusir  (a  bu  ser'),  122 

Aby'dos,  25 

Ac  a  de'mus,  210 

Academy,  Plato's,  235;  French, 687 

A  chae'ans,  126 

Acrop'olis,  130,  137,  144,  174,  182, 
185  ff.,  Plate  III 

Act  of  Supremacy,  611 

Act  of  Uniformity,  677 

Actium  (ak'shi  um),  273 

Ad'ri  an  o'ple,  battle  of,  317  f. 

Advancement  of  Learning,  661 

i^gean  (e  je'an),  the,  civiliza- 
tion of,  1 1 1  ;  geography  of,  116; 
influence  of  Orient  on,  ii6f. ; 
peoples  of  the,  117  ff.,  I26ff. 

^gina  (eji'na),  155,  183 

^  gos  pot'a  mi,  203 

iEneid  (e  ne'id),  the,  280  f. 

M.  o'li  ans,  127 

^s'chylus,  186,  189  ff. 

Agincourt  (aj'in  court,  Eng.  pron.), 
battle  of,  431 

Agriculture,  rise  of,  12,  20,  33  f., 
61,  90,  95  f. 

Ahuramazda  (a  ho'ra  m'az'da),  94, 
100 

Ak  a  man'tis,  185 

Ak'kad,  64  ff. 

Ak'ko,  138 

Al'ar  ic  takes  Rome,  318 

Alban  Mount,  248 

Albertus  Magnus,  489,  547 

Al  bi  gen'sians,  482  f. 

Al'che  my,  544 

Al  ci  bi'a  des,  198  ff. 

Al'cuin,  379 


Alemanni,  327 

Alexander  the  Great,  2 1 6  ff . ;  cam- 
paigns of,  217  ff.;   international 

policy  of,  224  ff. 
Alexander's  Empire,  229  ff. 
Alexandria,  88,  230,  233  ff.,  236 
Alexius,  Emperor,  461,  464 
Alfred  the  Great,  405  f. 
Al  ham'bra,  the,  368 
Ali  Baba  (a'le  ba'ba),  50 
Alphabet.    See  Writing 
Alsace  (al  sas')  and  Lorraine,  650 
Alva,  Duke  of,  628  f. 
A'mon,  226,  237 
Am'o  rites,  59,  67 
Amos,  106,  108 
Am  phic'ty  on  ies,  133 
Anabaptists,  601 
Anatomy,  earliest,  44 
Ancient   civilization,   collapse    of, 

302  ff.,  312  f. 
Andrea    del    Sarto    (an  dre^a    del 

sar'to),  559 
An  dro  ni'cus,  262 
Angles,  in  Britain,  355 
Anglo-Saxon,  535 
Anglo-Saxon  Cknviicle,  410 
Ani  (a'ne),  53 
Anjou  (an'jo,  Eng.  pron.),  416, 418 ; 

house  of,  435  ;  Charles  of,  458 
An'shan,  96 
An  tig'o  nids,  231  f. 
An  tig'o  nus,  230 
Antioch     (an'ti  ok),     230 ;     Latin 

kingdom  of,  467 
Aphrodite  (afrodi'te),  144,  251 
ApoHo,  133,  144,  159, 163,  180,  251 
Ap'pi  an  Way,  295 
A  qui'nas,  Thomas,  489,  547  f. 
Arabia,  57  f.,  86,  89 
Arabiafi    Alights*    Entertainments, 

The,  50,  3*66 


713 


714 


Outli?ics  of  European  History 


Arabic  numerals,  551 

Ar'abs,  57  ff. ;  condition  of,  before 
Mohammed,  358  ;  conquests  of, 
366  ff.,  461 ;  civilization  of,  in 
Spain,  564 

Aragon,  564 

Arame'ans,  71,  79,  89,  103 

Arausio  (a  ra'shi  6),  291 

Ar  be'la,  222 

Arch,  the,  62,  76,  81 

Archbishops,  powers  of,  478 

Architecture,    medieval,     509  ff. ; 

_   Renaissance,  521  f. 

Ar'chon,  136 

A  re  op'a  gus,  156,  173, 182,  186  ff., 

,,  Plate  III 

Ar'go  lis,  174 

Ar'gos,  124  f. 

Ariana  (a  ri  a'na),  9 

Aristogiton  (ar  is  to  jl'ton),  i56f. 

Ar  is  toph'a  nes,  198,  204 

Aristotle,  217;  medieval  veneration 
for,  547  ;  revolt  against,  652 

Ar  ma'da,  631,  644 

Art,  Middle  Stone  Age,  8  f.; 
Egyptian,  41,  48,  51  f. ;  Baby- 
lonian, 64  ff .,  69 ;  Assyrian, 
75  ff. ;  Chaldean,  83;  Cretan, 
ii6ff. ;  Greek,  141,  159,  186  ff.; 
Etruscan,  244  f. ;   Roman,  262 

Artaxerxes  (ar  ta  zerks'ez),  212 

Ar  te  mis'i  um,  172 

Aryans  (ar'yanz),  89,  91  ff. 

Ash  ur  ba'ni  pal,  78 

Asia,  western,  geography  of, 
56  ff. ;  races  of,  57  ff. 

Assembly,  Greek,  129,  132,  136, 
198  ;  place  of,  182 

Assur  (as'or),  70,  72 

Assyrian  art  and  architecture, 
72  ff.,  76  f. 

Assyrian  civilization,  76  ff. 

Assyrian  literature,  78 

Assyrian  society,  78  f. 

Assyrian  state,  70,  73 

Assyrian  war,  70  ff.,  75  f. 

Astrology,  83  f.,  299,  543 

Astronomy,  44,  83  f.,  193,  235 

A  the'na,  144,  188  ff.,  195  ;  temple 
of,  231 

Athenian  Empire,  166  ff.;  rise  of, 
178  ff. ;    triumph   of   democracy 


in,    183;    in    age    of    Pericles, 

185  ff. ;  destruction  of,  196  ff. 
Athens,    133 ;    map   and  plan   of, 

173;    and   Sparta,    178,   183   f . ; 

fall  of,  186  ff.,   203  ;  after  Peri- 
cles, 203  ff. 
Athletic    games.     See    Olympian 

games 
A'thos  (cr  Ath'os),  Mount,  166 
At'ti  ca,  133,  166  f. 
At'ti  la,  320 
At'tis,  298 
Augsburg,  battle  of,  438,  449,  504  ; 

diet  of,  601  ;  confession  of,  602  ; 

peace  of,  603,  646 
Augustan  Age,  the,  281 
Augustine,  bishop  of  Hippo,  318 
Augustus.    See  Octavian 
Au  re'li  us,  Marcus,  301  ff. 
Austria,  origin  of,  563.    See  Haps- 

burgs 
A  ves'ta,  94 
A  ve.s'tan,  90 
Avignon  (av  en  yon'),  residence  of 

popes  at,  493 
Axes  and  daggers,  earliest,  stone, 

10  ;  copper,  14,  114  f. 

Baalbek  (bal'bek),  280 
Babylon,  58,  80  ff.,  97 
Babylonian   art  and   architecture, 

62,  64  ff.,  69 
Babylonian  captivity,  493 
Babylonian  law,  67  f. 
Babylonian  religion,  62  f. 
Babylonian  society,  63  f. 
Babylonian  state,  64,  67 
Babylonian  writing,  60,  62 
Babylonians,   earliest.    See   Sume- 

rians 
Bacon,  Lord,  656  f.,  661 
Bacon,  Roger,  549 
Baeda.    See  Venerable  Bede 
Bagdad,  364 
Balance  of  power,  609 
Baldwin,  king  of  Jerusalem,  464  f., 

467 
Bal'i  ol,  John,  425 
Bannockburn,  battle  of,  425 
Baptists,  677 
"  liarbarians "    (in    Greece),    133, 

305.    See  Germans 


Index 


715 


"  Barbarians,  Laws  of  the,"  330 

Barbarossa.    See  Frederick  I 

Bards,  Welsh,  423 

Ba  sil'i  ca,  the,  Fig.  113  and  p.  337 

Battering  rams,  391 

Bayeux  (ba  yu')  tapestry,  409 

Becket,  Thomas,  413  f. 

Behistun  (be  his  ton'),  98 

Belshazzar,  97 

Benedict,  St.,  349 ;  rule  of,  349  f. 

Benedictine  order,  349  and  note ; 
influence  of,  350 

Bi'as,  I  59 

Bible,  the,  origin' of  name,  23,  140; 
Persian,  94  {see  Avesta) ;  Jewish, 
loS :  Luther's  translation  of, 
596  ;  English  translation  of,  61 2  ; 
King  James  version  of,  661 

Bill  of  Rights,  679 

Bishop  of  Rome,  early  claims  of, 
340 ;  leading  position  of,  340- 
342,  441  f.,  478  f.    See  Popes 

Black  death,  429 

Bo'ghaz-Koi,  113 

Bohemia,  375,  575  f.,  646 

Boleyn  (bool'in),  Anne,  610  f., 
614 

Bologna  (bolon'ya).  University  of, 

545 
Boniface  VIII,  Pope,  490,  492 
Boniface,  St.,  apostle  to  the  Ger- 
mans, 357  f. 
"  Book  of  the  Dead,"  52  f. 
Books,   earliest,   in   Europe,   140; 

oldest    surviving    Greek,    236 ; 

in  Middle  Ages,   552  f. 
Bos'po  rus,  306 
Bourbons,  House  of,  435;  Spanish, 

692  f. 
Bows  and  arrows,  earliest  use  of 

7,  74  ff.,  95  f. 
Brandenburg,  elector  of,  575 
Bremen  (bra'men),  374,  504 
Britain  conquered  by  the  Angles 

and  Saxons,  355 
Bronze,  10,  34  f.,  115 
Bruce,  Robert,  425 
Bubonic  plague,  429 
Burgundians,    322,    327 ;    number 

of,  entering  the  Empire,  329 
Burgundy,  432,  436,  573,  690 


Business    in    later    Middle    Ages, 

502  ff. 
Buttress,  512  f. 
Byb'los,  139  f. 
Byzantium  (bi  zan'shi  um),  306  f. 

"  Caesar,"  274 
Caesar,  Julius,  266  ff. 
Calais  (kal'is),  433 
Calendars,  23  f.,  62,  193,  236 
Caliph  (ka'lif),  title  of,  364 
Caliphate,  transferred  from  Medina 
to  Damascus,  364;   to  Bagdad, 

364,  375 
Callimachus  (ka  lim'a  kus),  168 
Callisthenes  (ka  lis'the  nez),  228 
Calvin,  607  f.,  632 
Cambyses  (kam  bi'sez),  97 
Canaanites,  59  f-,  102  ff. 
Canon  law,  476  note 
Canossa,  449 

Capitol  Hill,  248  f.  and  Fig.  113 
Capitularies,  378 

Cardinals,  origin  of,  445  and  note 
Caria  (ka'ri  a),  151 
Caramel,  138 

Carolingian  line,  369  note 
Carthage,  87,  89,  176,  257,  25Sff.; 

relations  with  Rome,  256  ff. 
Carthaginian  wars,  258  ff. 
Cas  si  6  d5'rus,  his  treatises  on  the 

liberal  arts  and  sciences.  322  f. 
Castles,  medieval,  387  ff. 
Cathedral,  47  f.  and  Fig.  1 13,  510  f. 
Catherine  of  Aragon,  610  f. 
Catherine  of  Medici  (med'e  che), 

632  ff. 
Catholic  Church,  early  conception 

of,  334.    See  Church,  Clergy 
Catholic  League,  647  f. 
Cavaliers,  668 

Celts,  89,  355  ;  in  Britain,  355 
Ceres  (se'rez),  251 
Chaeronea  (ker  5  ne'a),  216 
Chalcedon  (kal  se'don).  Act  of  the 

Council  of,  342 
Chaldea  (kal  de'a),  89,  96  f. 
Chaldean    art    and     architecture, 

81  ff. 
Chaldean  commerce.  83 
Chaldean  F^mpire,  80  ff. 
Chaldean  industries,  83 


7i6 


Outlines  of  Etiropeaii  History 


Chaldean  science,  83  ff. 

Chaldean  state,  80  f. 

Chaldean  war,  80 

Chaldean  writing,  83 

Chaldeans,  69,  79,  80 

Chalons  (sha  Ion'),  battle  of,  320 

Charlemagne  (shar'le  man),  369  ff., 
disruption  of  Empire  of,  381 

Charles  L  662  ff. 

Charles  II  of  England,  676  ff.,  689 

Charles  V,  Emperor,  562,  566  ff., 
593  U  625 

Charles  VIII  of  France,  Italian 
invasion  of,  568  ff . 

Charles  IX  of  France,  632  f. 

Charles  Martel  defeats  the  Mo- 
hammedans at  Tours,  367,  369 

Charter,  Great,  419  f. 

Charters,  town,  500 

Chartres  (shartr),  cathedral  of,  515 

Chaucer,  536 

Cheops  (ke'ops)  {see  Khufu),  25,  28 

Chephren  (kef'ren),  frontispiece 

Chilon  (krion),  159 

Chios  (kros),  151 

Chivalry,  538  f. 

Christ.    See  Jesus 

Christianity,  promises  of,  335; 
contrast  between  ideas  of,  and 
those  of  the  pagans,  335  f. 

Chrysoloras  (kris  5  lo'ras),  548 

Church,  greatness  of,  334  ;  sources 
of  power  of,  335  ff. ;  relation  of, 
to  the  civil  government,  337 ; 
begins  to  perform  the  functions 
of  the  civil  government,  338  f. ; 
in  time  of  Charlemagne,  374, 
379;  property  of,  440  ff. ;  char- 
acter and  organization  of,  475ff.; 
relation  of,  to  State,  489  ;  break 
up  of,  578.    See  Clergy,  Popes 

Church  of  England,  611,  639 

Cicero  (sis'e  ro),  265  f. 

Cilicia  (silish'ia),  146 

Cimmerians  (si  me'ri  anz),  79 

Cimon  (si'mon),  180  f. 

City-states,  64,  127  ff.,  247,  516  ff. 

Civil  war  in  England,  668  f. 

Claudius,  247 

Cle  6  bij'lus,  159 

Cle'on  the  tanner,  198  f. 

Cle  6  pa'tra,  267,  272  ff. 


Clerestory,  47  f.  and  Figs.  1 13, 183, 
188 

Clergy,  position  of,  in  Middle  Ages, 
443  f.,  480  ff. 

Cleric  is  laicos,  491 

Clermont,  Council  of,  461 

Clipping,  505 

Clis'the  nes,  157  f. 

Clit'i  as,  149 

Cirtus,  228 

Clocks,  earliest,  in  Greece,  234 ; 
in  Egypt,  236 

Cloister,  351 

Clovis,  conquests  of,  326  f. ;  con- 
version of,  327  ;  number  of  sol- 
diers of,  329  ;  baptized,  329 

Cnidus  (ni'dus),  151 

Cnossus(nos'us),i4, 116,  Ii8ff.,i27 

Cnut  (knot),  406 

Codes  of  law,  earliest  written,  29, 
67  f.,  154,  252,  281  f.,  311  f. 

Coinage,  earliest,  in  Egypt,  38 ; 
in  Age  of  Hammurapi,  67  ;  in 
Medo-Persian  Empire,  98;  in 
Greece,  151  ;  in  Rome,  250, 
256;  medieval,  505 

Colbert  (kol  bar'),  686  f. 

Coligny  (ko  len'ye),  635  f. 

Coloni,  the,  292  f. 

Colonia  Augusta  Treverorum,  289 

Colonnades,  the  earliest,  40,  46  ff. 

Col  OS  se'um,  279,  294 

Columbus,  530 

Commerce  in  Middle  Ages,  503  ff. 

Com'mo  dus,  301  f. 

Common  law,  413 

Commons,  House  of.  See  Parlia- 
ment 

Commonwealth  in  England,  670  ff. 

Compurgation,  331 

Condottieri  (kon  dot  tya're),  520  f . 

Conscience,  emergence  of,  43,  53, 
161  f. 

Con'stan  tine,  289,  305  f.,  308 

Constantinople,  306  f.,  312  f.,  464, 
472  f. 

Continuity  of  history,  316 

Conventicle  Act,  677 

Conventicles,  666 

Conversion,  of  the  Germans,  357  f.; 
of  the  Saxons,  373  f. 

Co  per'ni  cus,  652  f. 


Index 


;i; 


Copper,  14,  24,  26,  28,  34  f.,  88, 
ii4f.,  246 

Cor'do  va,  mosque  at,  367  ;  uni- 
versity at,  368,  564 

Cor'inth,  1508.,  196  f. 

Corinthian  Gulf,  161 

Coronation,  religious  ceremony,370 

Cotton,  earliest,  77  f. 

Council,  Greek,  I29ff.,  132;  re- 
ligious,  133 

Covenant,  National,  667 

Crecy  (kres'sy),  battle  of,  427 

Cretan  art  and  architecture,  ii6ff. 

Crete,  prehistoric,  iiSff. 

Croesus  (kre'sus),  96 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  669  ff. 

Crusades,  460  ff. 

Cuneiform.    See  Wedge-writing 

Curia,  papal,  478 

Cy'prus,  230 

Cy  re'ne,  146 

Cy'rus,  96  ff.,  99 

•'  Czar,"  274 

Dalmatia  (dalma'shi  a),  279 
Damascus,  71  f.,  89,  103 
Danegeld,  406 
Danes,   invasion   of   England   by, 

405  ff. 
Da  ri'us  (Darius  the  Great),  98  ff., 

i66ff.,  219  ff. 
Dark  ages,  332,  379 
David,  103 

Decelea  (des  e  le'a),  201  ff. 
Decelean  War,  201  f. 
Degrees,     university,     explained, 

546  and  note 
De'li  a,  296  f. 

Delian  League,  i79f.,  184 
De'li  um,  199 
De'los,  133 
DeFphl,  133,  161,  163 
Delta,  the,  18 
De  me'ter,  144,  251 
De  mos'the  nes,  216 
Denmark, in  Thirty  Years' War,647 
Descartes  (dakart^,  655 ff. 
Dictator  (in  Rome),  253 
Diet,  of  Germany,  576;  at  Worms, 

.593 
Diocletian  (dl  6  kle'shi  an),  302  £., 
305  ff.       . 


DT  6  ny'sus,  144  and  Fig.  93 

Dip'y  Ion  Gate,  186 

Discoveries,  geographical,  526 ff.; 

of  the  Portuguese,  528  f. 
Disorder,  age  of,  381 
Dispensations,  477 
Dissenters,  677 
Divine  right  of  kings,  370,  659  f., 

682  ff. 
Domestication  of  animals,  12,  34, 

61,  90 
Dominicans,  488 
Don'jon,  392 
Do'ri  ans,  I26f. 
Dra'co  (dra'ko),  155 
Drainage  systems,  earliest  known, 

122,  Fig.  66 
Drake,  Sir  Francis,  642 
Diirer,  Albrecht,  559 
Dutch.    See  Holland 

Early  Stone  Age.   See  Stone  Age 

East,  luxuries  of,  introduced  into 
Europe,  295  f.,  504 

East,  the  Far,  223 

East  Frankish  kingdom,  382 

East  Goths,  320  f.,  324 

Eastern  Church.  -&^  Greek  Church 

Ecbatana  (ek  bat'a  na),  98 

Eck,  John,  591 

Edessa,  465,  467  ;  fall  of,  470 

Edict  of  Nantes  (nants),  638  ;  rev- 
ocation of,  691 

Edict  of  Restitution,  647 

Education,  379,  380,  541  ff. 

Edward  the  Confessor,  406  f. 

Edward  I,  421,  423  f.,  490 

Edward  11,  422,  425 

Edward  III,  422,  426 

Edward  VI,  614 

Egbert,  405 

Egypt,  17;    geography  of,   17  ff. 
earliest    inhabitants    of,    20  ff. 
earliest  known  writing  in,  21  ff. 
stone    architecture    in,    25  ff. 
Pyramid  Age  of,  27  ff. ;  arts  and 
crafts    in,   34  ff.,   51  ff-;    Feudal 
Age  of,  42  ff . ;  the  Empire,  44  ff. ; 
influence  of,  upon  Rome,  275; 
during  Roman  Empire,  285  f. 

Egyptian    art    and     architecture, 
25ff-»  33'  4i.46ff.,  50  ff- 


718 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Egyptian  commerce,  31  ff.,36,  38 

Egyptian  industries,  34  ff. 

Egyptian  literature,  42  f.,  53 

P^gyptian  painting,  41 

Egyptian  religion,  27  f.,  51  ff. 

Egyptian  science,  44 

Egyptian  ships,  30  f.,  37 

Egyptian  society,  38  f.,  42  f. 

Egyptian  state,  29  ff.,  42  f.,  46 

Egyptian  war,  46 

Egyptian  writing,  21  ff. 

E'lam,  97 

Electors  in  the  Empire,  575 

Eleusis  (e  lu'sis),  160,  162 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  611,  639  ff. 

Elysian  Fields,  144 

Embalmment,  27,  46,  50 

E  mir'ate  of  Cordova,  375 

Empire,  the,  in  Egypt.  See  Egyp- 
tian Empire 

Empire,  Holy  Roman.  376,  439  f., 
452  ff.,  458^ 

England,  reconversion  of,  357  ;  in 
the  Middle  Ages,  405  ff.;  condi- 
tion of  labor  in,  430  f. ;  rela- 
tions with  Scotland,  425  ;  Prot- 
estant revolt  in,  608  ff. ;  under 
Elizabeth,  639  ff.;  Constitutional 
struggle  in,  659  ff. 

English  Church,  664  f. 

English  language,  535 f. 

E  pam  i  non'das,  212  f. 

Ep  i  cu're'ans,  235,  281 

E  pi'rus,  2  56f. 

Erasmus,  579  ff . ;  attitude  of,  toward 
Luther,  588,  608  ;  Praise  of  Folly 
of,  609 

Erechtheus  (e  rek'thus),  137 

E  re'tri  a,  166 

Er  go  ti'mos,  149 

En'lil,  63 

Estates  General,  427  f.,  435,  492, 
683 

Etruscan  art,  244  f. 

Etruscan  bronzes,  149,  244,  246 

Etruscan  kings  of  Rome,  249,  252 

E  trus'cans,  244  ff.,  249 

Eu  ae'ne  tus,  185 

Eubcea  (ube'a),  137,  166 f.,  172 

Eu  pat'rids,  1 30  ff. 

Eu  phra'tes  River,  58 

Eu  rip'i  des,  190  ff. 


Eurymedon    (u  rim'e  don)    River, 

181 
Excommunication,  481  . 
Exeter,  cathedral  of,  515 
Exile,  the  (Hebrew),  106  ff. 

Fa'bi  us,  260 

Fabliaux  (fab  le  6'),  538 

Ferdinand,  Emperor,  625  and  note 

Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  565 

Festival  Street  in  Babylon,  81  ff. 

Feudal  Age  in  Egypt,  42  ff. ; 
tombs  of,  42  ff. ;  civilization  in, 
42  ff. 

Feudal  system.    See  Feudalism 

Feudalism,  397  ff. ;  warfare,  401  f. ; 
introduction  of,  into  England, 
410;  introduction  of,  into  France, 
435;  relation  of,  to  Church,  441 

Fiefs.    See  Feudalism 

First  Cataract  of  the  Nile,  iS,  32 

Flanders,  411,  504 

Flavian  amphitheater.  See  Colos- 
seum 

Flayers,  435 

Fleur-de-lis  (fliir'de  le'),  427 

Flint  mines,  earliest,  13 

Florence,  459,  516,  522,  558,  569, 
572 

Forum,  Roman,  Fig.  113  and  248  f. 

France,  429,  434 ff.;  natural  bound- 
aries of,  649,  688 ;  under  Louis 
XIV,  681  ff.  ^ 

Franche-Comte  (frorish  kofi  ta'), 
636,  649,  689 

Francis  I,  571 ;  persecution  under, 

631 
Francis  II,  632  f. 
Franciscans,  484  ff.    . 
Franks,  conquests  of,  322,  325  f.; 

conversion  of,  327,  369,  381 
Frederick  I,  Emperor,  452  f.,  456, 

471 
Frederick  II,  Emperor,  456  f. 
Frederick,    the     "winter     king," 

646  f. 
Frederick  the  Wise,  582,  591 
French    language,    537    and    note 
French  medieval  romances,  537 
Fritzlar,  sacred  oak  of  Odin  at,  358 
Furniture,  earliest  wooden,  12,  37. 

See  Wood 


Index 


719 


Gaelic  (ga'lik),  424 

Gaius  (ga'yus),  265 

Ga  le'ri  us,  30S 

Gal  i  le'5,  653  f. 

Gallic  wars,  255 

Gard  (gar)  River,  283 

Gascony  (gas'ko  ni),  41S 

Gaul,  dying,  214,  255 

Gaul  (Gauls),  235,  254,  255,  258  ff., 
266  ff. 

Gelasius  (je  la'shi  us).  Pope,  his 
opinion  of  the  relation  of  the 
Church  and  the  civil  govern- 
ment, 339 

Ge'lon  (je'lon),  176 

Geneva,  reformation  at,  607 

Genoa,  472,  503,  516 

Geographical  discoveries,  526  ff. 

Geography,  44 

Geometry,  44,  193 

Germaniclanguages, origin  of,  330, 

534 

Germans,  objects  of,  in  invading 
the  Empire,  317  ;  number  of,  in- 
vading, 329;  fusion  of,  with  the 
Romans,  329;  character  of  early, 
332  ;  conversion  of,  355  ff. 

Germany,  439  ff.;  division  of,  into 
small  states,  458,  562  ;  universi- 
ties of,  546 ;  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  574  ff. ;  religious  divi- 
sion of,  600 

Ghiberti  (ge  ber'te),  558 

Gibraltar,  694 

Gizeh  (ge'ze),  19,  25  ff. ;  Great  Pyra- 
mid of,  25,  28  ff.,  33  ;  Second 
Pyramid  of,  41,  42  ;  cemetery 
of,  Plate  I  (frontispiece) 

Glass,  earliest,  35. f.,  77,  83 

Godfrey  of  Bouillon  (bo  y6fi'),464f. 

Golden  Bull,  402 

Gortyna  (gortl'na),  154 

Gothic  architecture,  511  ff. 

Gothic  sculpture,  515  f. 

Government,  Assyrian,  70  ff.,  78 

Government,  Babylonian,  64,  67 

Government,  Chaldean,  80 

Government,  Egyptian,  20  f.,  29  ff., 
42,  46 

Government,  Greek,  129  f.,  132  ff., 
136  ff.,  155  ff.,  181  ff.,  184,  209  f., 
215'  239 


Government,  Hebrew,  103  f.,  106 
Government,  Roman,  248  f.,  252  ff., 

255,  264  ff.,  268,  271  ff.,  273  ff., 

301,  311  f. 
Gracchi  (grak'I),  265 
Gra  na'da,  the  Alhambra  at,  368 ; 

fall  of,  375 
Grand  Remonstrance,  667 
Gra  nfcus  River,  218 
"Great  Greece,"  147 
Great  King,  98  f.,  219 
Great  Mother,  298 
"  Great  schism,"  524 
Greek,   study    of,   in   the    Middle 

Ages,  547  f. 
Greek  art  and   architecture,   141, 

156,    159,    182,    186  ff.,   231    and 

Fig.  112 
Greek  Church  tends  to  separate 

from  the  Latin,  342 
Greek  colonization,  146  ff. 
Greek  commerce,  137,  146  ff.,  155 
Greek  drama,  189  ff.,  204 
Greek  education,  192,  234  f. 
Greek  history  writing,  203  ff, 
Greek  industries,  148  f. 
Greek  law,  154 
Greek  literature,^  142  ff.,  155,  i59ff., 

189  f.,  192 
Greek  music,  159,  185 
Greek  oratory,  192,  216 
Greek  painting,  186 
Greek  philosophy.  See  Philosophy 
Greek  religion,  144,  236 
Greek  science,  162,  193,  234  f. 
Greek  sculpture,  189 
Greek  ships,  137,  152,  107  f. 
Greek    society,    127  f.,    129,    143, 

i55ff.,  183,  2i7ff.,  238 
Greek  state,  129  f.,  132  ff.,  136  ff., 

155  ff.,  181  f.,  184,  216  f.,  239 
Greek  theater,  145,  189  ff. 
Greek  war,   167  ff.,   183  f.,   196  ff., 

208  ff.,  212  f. 
Greek  writing,  130,  139  f. 
Gregory  VII,  Pope,  446  ff. 
Gregory  of  Tours,  324,  327 
Gregory  the  Great,  344  f.;  writings 

of,    345 ;    missionary    work    of, 

346,  356 
Grotius,  694 
Guienne  (ge  en'),  416,  418 


720 


Outlines  of  Eiiivpean  History 


Guilds,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  502  ; 

of  teachers,  545 
Guise     (guez),     House     of,     632, 

634  ff. 
Gunpowder,  551  f. 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  647  ff. 

Ha'des,  144 

Hamburg,  504 

Ham  mu  ra'pi,  67  ff. 

Hampden,  John,  664 f. 

Hanging  Gardens  (of  Babylon), 
82 

Hannibal,  259  ff. 

Hanseatic  League,  508 

Hapsburg,  Rudolf  of,  458,  563 ; 
House  of,   562  ff. 

Ha' rem  ^  363 

Har  mo'di  us,  1 56  f. 

Harold,  Earl  of  Wessex,  407  f. 

Harvey,  William,  661 

Hastings,  battle  of,  409 

Hatchets,  early  stone,  3  ff. 

Hebrew  history  writing,  105  f. 

Hebrew  industries,  104 

Hebrew  kingdoms,  the,  103  ff. 

Hebrew  literature,  106 

Hebrew  oratory,  106 

Hebrew  religion,  104,  106  ff. 

Hebrew  society,  105  f. 

Hebrew  state,  103  f. 

Hebrew  war,  106 

He  jl'ra,  the,  359 

Hel'i  con,  143 

Hellas,  126 

Hellenes  (hergnz),  133  f.,  147 

Hellenistic  Age,  the,  232  ff. ;  civ- 
ilization of,  232  ff. 

Hel'les  pont,  166 

Henry  I  of  England,  411 

Henry  II  of  England,  411 

Henry  III  of  England,  421 

Henry  VII  of  England,  434 

Henry  VIII  of  England,  573, 
609  ff. ;  divorce  case  of,  610  f.; 
revolt  of,  against  papacy,  61 1  f. 

Henry  II  of  France,  632 

Henry  III  of  France,  636 f. 

Henry  IV  of  Germany,  447  ;  con- 
flict of,  with  Gregory  VII,  447  ff. 

Henry  V  of  Germany,  451 

Henry  IV  of  Navarre,  637  ff. 


Hephaestion  (he  fes'ti  on),  229 

He'ra,  144 

Her'a  cles,  222 

Heresy,  469,  481  f. 

Her'mes,  144  and  Fig.  93 

He  rod'o  tus,  188,  203  f. 

He'si  od,  128,  143 

Hieroglyphs,  21  f.,  62,  66,  117  ff., 

121 
High  Church  party,  666 
Highlands,  424 
Hip  par'chus,  i  57 
Hip'pi  as,  157,  167 
History,    continuity    or    unitv   of, 

316 

Hittites  (hit'Its),  70,  113  f.,  117  f. 

Hobenstaufens,  452  f.  See  Fred- 
erick I,  Frederick  II 

Holbein  (horbin),  Hans,  559 

Holland,  629,  689 ;  English  war 
with,  672  f.,  678 

Holy  Land,  460  f. 

Holy  League,  636 

Holy  Roman  Empire,  377,  438  ff., 

563'  651 
Homage,  398 
Homer,  141  ff. 
Homeric  songs,   133,   139,   142  £., 

144,  i59f. 
Hor'ace,  278  ff. 
Horse,  first   appearance    of   the, 

45  f-  69,  90 
Hospitalers,  46S 
House,  the  earliest  wooden,  12 
Hrolf,  407 

Huguenots,  633  ff.,  690  ff. 
Humanists,  549 

Hundred  Years'  War,  426  ff.,  433 
Hungarians,  invasions  of,  386,  438, 

463 
Huns,  317,  320 
Hy  met'tus,  Plate  IV 

I  be'ri  ans,  276 

rbis,  53 

Ice  Age,  the,  5  ff. ;  last  retreat  of 

ice,  ID 
Ic  tl'nus,  '88 
Ides  (Tries*  of  March,  271 
Ikh  na'ton,  52 
iri  ad,  142  f. 
iri  um,  112 


Index 


721 


II  lyr'ia,  271 

Iniperatoi\,  274 

Independents,  666 

Index  of  prohibited  books,  620 

Indo-Europeans,  61 ;  dispersion  of, 

86  ff.,  261  ;  their  occupation  of 

Italy,  246 
Indulgences,  584  and  note 
Ink,  earliest  use  of,  22 
Innocent  III,  Pope,  struggle   of, 

with  the  Hohenstaufens,  456  ff. ; 

419,  469,  486,  48S 
Inquisition,  483  f. ;  in  Spain,  566; 

in  the  Netherlands,  627  f. 
Institute,  PYench,  657 
Interdict,  419,  481 
Interest,   attitude    toward,   in  the 

Middle  Ages,  506 
International  law,  694 
histituies  of  Christianity,  Calvin's, 

607  f.,  632 
Invasions,  in  the  ninth  and  tenth 

centuries,  383  f. 
Inventions,  modern,  65.7 
Investiture,  441  ff.,  458 ;  question 

of,  settled,  452 
I  o'ni  ans,  127,  137 
Iran  (e  ran'),  91  ff. 
Iranians  (I  ra'ni  anz),  91  ff. 
Ireland,  642  f.,  670  f. 
Irene,  Empress,  376 
Iron,  incoming  of,  75 
Irrigation,   earliest   known,    17  f., 

61 
Isaac,  105 

Isabella,  queen  of  Castile,  565 
Ish'tar,  Gate  of,  81  ff. 
I'sis,  296  ff. 
Is'lam,  58,  359 
Islands  of  the  Blest,  144 
I  soc'ra  tes,  211,  216 
Israel,  104,  106  f. 
Is'sus,  battle  of,  219  f. 
Italian  cities,  trade  of,  with  Orient, 

503  ;  of  the  Renaissance,  516  ff. 
Italian  despots,  526 
Italic  peoples,  246  f. 
Italy,  geography  and  climate  of, 

241  ff. ;  earliest,  243  ff. ;  in  the 

Middle  Ages,  382,   516  ff.  ;   art 

of,  558  ff. ;  becomes  battleground 

of  Europe,  568  ff. 


Jacob,  105 

James  I,  659  ff.,  683 

James  II,  678  f. 

James  VI  of  Scotland  and  I  of 
England,  425 

Jax  ar'tes,  88,  223 

Je  ho'vah,  104 

Jericho,  102  f.,  105 

Jerome,  St.,  advocate  of  the  mo- 
nastic life,  349 

Jerusalem,  80,  103  f.,  108,  461,  466, 
471  f. ;  kingdom  of,  467 

Jesuits,  620  ff. ;  646 

Jesus,  300 

Jews,  economic  importance  of, 
506;  persecution  of,  565  f. 

Joan  of  Arc,  431  f. 

John  of  England,  417  ff.,  426 

John  Frederick  of  Saxony,  603 

Joseph,  106 

Jou7'nal  des  Savants  (joor  nal'da 
sav  on'),  688 

Jubilee  of  1300,  491 

Judah,  80,  104,  106  f. 

Julius  II,  Pope,  558 

Ju'pi  ter,  84,  248,  251  and  Fig.  113 

Jury,  trial  by,  412 

"Just "  price,  505 

Justinian,  324  f. 

Justs  and  tourneys  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  402 

Kaaba  (ka'ba),  358,  361 
Kadijah  (ka  de'ja),  wife  of  Moham- 
med, 358 
"Kaiser"  (ki'zer),  274 
"  Kaldi  "  (kal'de),  79,  80 
Kal'ki,  66 
Kar'nak,   temple  of,  Fig.  24  and 

Khafre  (kaf'ray,  Greek  Chephf-en)^ 

41  f.  and  frontispiece 
Khatti  (khat'te).    See  Hittites 
Khufu  (ko'fo,  Greek  Cheops),  25,  28 
King's  Peace,  209 
Kingship,  origin  of,  20  f.,  29,  129; 

divine  right  of  kings,  227 
Kish,  60 
Knighthood,    539   f. ;    knights    in 

Germany,  576 
Knox,  John,  640 
Ko  ran',  the,  359  f. 


722 


Out  lift  es  of  European  History 


La  con'ica  (Laconia),  132 
Lake-dwellers,  9  ff.,  35,  11 5,  243  f., 

246 
Lancaster,  House  of,  433  f. 
Land,  ownership  of,  20  f.,  34,  42, 

64,  1 28  f.,  1 53,  I  55,  263  ff.,  289  ff., 

303  f. ;  in  Middle  Ages,  383,  386 
Langton,  Stephen,  418 
Late  Stone  Age.    See  Stone  Age 
Lateran,  palace  of  the,  525 
Latin  kingdoms,  in  Syria,  467 
Latin  language,  330,  533  ff. 
Latin  League,  the,  254 
Latin  literature,  extinction  of,  324 
Latins,  247  f. 
Latium  (la'shi  urn),  247  f. 
Laud,  William,  664  f. 
Law,  earliest  written  codes  of,  29, 

67  f.,  154,  252,  281  f.,  311  f. 
Laws  of  Hammurapi,  67  f. 
Learning  preserved  by  Church,  379 
Leb'a  non,  32 
Legates,  papal,  477 
Leo  the  Great,  320,  342 
Leo  X,  558,  571,  582  ff. 
Leonardo   da  Vinci    (da  vin'che), 

559 
Le  on'i  das,  171  f.,  174 
Libraries,  earliest,  of  Feudal  Age 

of  Egypt,  42  ff. 
Library,  of  Ashurbanipal,  78 ;   of 

Pergamum,  231  ;  of  Alexandria, 

235 

Licinian  laws,  253 

Li  cin'i  us,  253 

Lighthouse,  earliest,  236 

Lin'dus,  159 

Lion  Gate,  125 

Llewellyn,  423 

Lombard  League,  456 

Lombard  towns,  454 

Lombards,  inltaly,325;  as  bankers, 
506 

Lombardy  conquered  by  Charle- 
magne, 374 

Long  Walls  of  Athens,  173,  183 

Lord,  medieval,  397 

Lords,  House  of,  422 

Lorenzo  the  Magnificent,  522,  558 

Louis  the  Pious,  381 

Louis  XI  of  PVance,  436 

Louis  XIV  of  France,  681  ff. 


Low  Church  party,  666 
Lowlands  of  Scotland,  424 
Lo  yo'la,  620  ff. 
Lli'beck,  504,  508 
Luther,  Martin,  582  ff. 
Lutheran  revolt,  597  ff. 
Lycabettus    (lik  a  bet'us),   Mount, 

Plate  III 
Lyd'i  a,  98 

Ly  san'der,  203,  208  f. 
Ly  sic'ra  tes,  185 

Mac'e  don  (mas'e  don),  213 
Macedonia,  rise  of,  215  ff. 
Machiavelli    (ma'kya  vel'le).    The 

Prince,  by,  522 
Magdeburg,  destruction  of,  648 
Ma  gel'lan,  expedition  of,  530 
Magi,  299 

Maine,  416,  436,  480 
Malta,  468 
Man,  earliest,    i  ff. ;  condition  of, 

2  f. ;  stone  tools  of,  3  f. 
Manor,  medieval,  394  ff. ;  break  up 

of  the,  in  England,  430 
Man  ti  ne'a,  213 
Mar^a  thon,  166  ff.,  186;  battle  of, 

i69f. 
Marches,  375 
Marco  Polo,  526 
Mar  do'ni  us,  170-176  f.,  178  ff. 
Marduk  (mar'dok),  81,  84 
Margraves,  375 
Marignano    (ma  ren  ya'n5),  battle 

of,  572 
Ma'ri  us,  265  f. 
Mark  Antony,  271  ff. 
Mars,  84,  251 
Mars'  Hill,  173,  186  ff. 
Marseilles,  148,  472 
Marston  Moor,  battle  of,  669 
Mary  of  Burgundy,  563 
Mary  of  England,  611,  616  f. 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  632,  641  f. 
Massilia   (ma  sil'i  a)    (Marseilles), 

148 
Mathematics,  44,  193 
Matilda,  409,  41 1 
Max  i  mirian  I,  Emperor,  562  f. 
Mayence,   elector  of,    575;    arch- 
bishop of,  579 
Mayflower,  666 


Inde: 


.723 


Mayor  of  the  Palace,  369 

Mazarin  (ma  za  ran'),  681 

Mazda,  94 

Maz'da  ka,  93 

Mecca,  358,  359;    pilgrimage  to, 

361 

Medes,  80,  89,  92  f.,  96  f. 

Medes  and  Persians,  89,  92  f. 

Medici  (med'eche),  the,  522 

Medicine,  44,  193 

Medina,  359,  364 

Mediterranean  world,  geography 
and  products  of,  iii  ff. ;  the 
western,  241  ff. ;  in  Roman  Em- 
pire, 282  ff. ;  orientalization  of, 
310  ff. 

Medo-Persian  Empire,  86  ff. 

Me  dum',  25 

Meg'a  ra,  155 

Melanchthon  (me  langk'thon),  602 

Memphis,  226 

Mendicant  orders,  484  f. 

Menes  (me'nez),  31 

Mer'cu  ry,  84,  251 

Merovin'gian  line,  328,  369  note 

Mer'sen,  Treaty  of,  381,  439 

Metal,  age  of,  14,  24  ff. ;  in  Europe, 
ii4ff. 

Me'ton,  193 

Michael  Angelo.  (ml'kel  an'je  15), 

559 
Middle   Ages,   meaning   of   term, 

316  f. ;  character  of,  332 
Middle  Stone  Age.  See  Stone  Age 
Mil'an,  454,  571,  572;  despots  of, 

521 

Mi  le'tus,  159,  167 

Milti'ades,  i68f. 

Minnesingers,  540  f. 

Miracles,  frequency  of,  in  Middle 
Ages,  336  f. 

Missions  of  Jesuits,  623  f. 

Mith'ras,  94,  100  f.,  298 

Mit  y  le'ne,  1 59,  198  f. 

Mnesicles  (ne'siklez),  186,  188 

Model  Parliament,  421 

Modern  inventions,  549  ff. 

Modern  languages,  533  ff. 

Moham'med,  94,  358  f. 

Mohammedan  conquests.  See  Ara- 
bic conquests 

Mohammedanism,  359  ff. 


Mohammedans,   358  ff. ;    expelled 
from  Spain,  375  ;  in  Sicily,  384 
Monasteries,      arrangement      of, 

35iff- 

Monasticism,  attraction  of,  for 
many  different  classes,  348  f. 

Money,  lack  of,  in  Middle  Ages, 
383  ;  replaces  barter,  396,  399 

Monks,  336 ;  origin  and  distin- 
guished services  of,  348  f. ;  mis- 
sionary work  of,  355  ff. 

Mon'te  Cassino  (kas  se'no),  found- 
ing of,  349 

Moors,  368,  564  f. ;  expelled  from 
Spain,  566,  645 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  608,  612 

Moses,  102 

Mosque_,  363 

Myc'ale,  177 

Mycenae  (ml  se'ne),  123 

Mycenasan  Age,  123 

Mysteries  of  Eleusis(e  lu'sis),  160, 
162 

Nahum,  79 

Nantes  (nants),  Edict  of,  638 
Naples,  kingdom  of,  568  note,  571 
Napoleon    of    Egypt.    See    Thut- 

mose  III 
Na  ram'-Sin,  65 
Nase'by,  battle  of,  669 
National  Covenant,  667 
Natural  boundaries  of  France,  649, 

688 
Nau'cra  tis,  146 
Navarre,  633 
Navigation  Act,  672  f. 
Ne  ap'o  lis,  147 

Nebuchadnezzar,  69,  80  ff.,  107 
Neighborhood  war  in  the  Middle 

Ages,  401,  576 
Ne  mau'sus,  283 
Ne  nek  he  ptah',  41 
Netherlands,  revolt  of  the,  626  ff. ; 

Louis    XIV's    invasion  of   the, 

689 
N'eiv  Atlantis,  656  f. 
New  Testament,  300 
New  York,  678 
Nicaea  (nl  se'a),  461,  463,  465 
Nicholas  II,  Pope,  445 
Nicias  (nish'i  as),  199  ff. 


724 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Nile,  i8ff.;  Delta  of,  i8  ff. ;  First 
Cataract  of,  i8;  historical  value 
of,  26;  voyage  up,  42  ff. ;  Fourth 
Cataract  of,  46 ;  Nubian,  Fig.  30 

Nimes  (nem),  283,  285 

Nineveh  (nin'e  ve),  72,  77  ff. 

Nobility,  origin  of  titles  of,  378 

Nobles,  age  of,  in  Greece,  136  ff.; 
expansion  in,  146  ff. 

Nogaret,  492 

Norman  Conquest  of  England, 
405  ff. ;  results  of,  410  f. 

Normandy,  406  f.,  416,  418 

Northmen,  386 ;  invasion  of  Eng- 
land by,  405,  408 

Notre  Dame  (n5'tr  dam),  46,  510 

Nuremberg,  504 

Oc  ta'vi  an,  271  ff. 

O  de'on,  234 

O  do  a'cer,  320 

Odysseus  (0  dis'us),  142 

Od'ys  sey,  142  f. 

Old  Testament,  108,  232 

Olympic  Games,  133,  140 

O  lym'pus,  I24f.,  126 

Oracles,  162,  251  f. 

Orange,  William  of,  629  ff. 

Ordeals,  331 

Orient,  Late  Stone  Age  Europe 
and,  14  ff.;  history  of,  17-110; 
influence  on  yEgean  world,  1 1 6  f . ; 
influence  on  Mediterranean 
world,  236f . ;  influence  on  Roman 
Empire,  275,  295  ff.;  European 
relations  with,  472  f.,  503 

Orleans,  House  of,  435  ;  Maid  of, 

431  f-_ 
O  ron'tes,  230 
O  si'ris,  27,  52,  297  f. 
Ostracism,  158,  180 
Os'tro  goths.    See  East  Goths 
Otto   I,   the   Great,   of   Germany, 

438  ff. 
Oxford,  L  niversity  of,  546 
Ox'us  River,  223 

Paestum  (pes'tum),  147 
Palatinate,    elector    of    the,    575; 

Rhenish,  691 
Palatine  Hill,  248  f. 
Palestine,  57  ff.,  89,  loi  ff.,  107  f. 


Pan-Athenaic  Festival,  185,  189 
and  Fig.  92 

Papacy,  origin  of,  340  f.    See  Pope 

Papal  States,  516 

Paper  and  paper-making,  22  f.,  y], 
140 ;  introduction  of,  in  western 
Europe,  556 

Papy'rus,  22  f.,  37,  140,  237,  378 

Parchment,  use  of,  379 

Paris,  University  of,  545 

Parliament,  English,  421  f.,  494; 
"kneeling,"  617;  struggle  of, 
with  Stuarts,  659  f. ;  Long,  667 

Par  me'ni  0,  219  f.,  223,  228 

Par  nas'sus.  Mount,  161 

Parsifal,  541 

Par'the  non,  137,  182,  186,  188  ff., 
Plate  III,  Plate  IV 

Par'thi  ans,  230  f . 

Pasargadae  (pa  sar'ga  de),  99 

Paschal  II,  Pope,  451 

Patricians,  252  f. 

Paul,  300 

Paulus  Di  ac'5  nus,  380 

Pau  sa'ni  as,  177 

Pavia  (pave'a),  battle  of,  609 

Peasants,  medieval,  394 ff.;  revolt 
of,  in  England,  430,  495  ;  revolt 
of,  in  Germany,  598  f. 

Peasants'  Rebellion,  430,  495 

Pel  6  pon  ne'sian  War,  184,  I96ff. 

Peloponnesus,  126 

Penance,  480 

Pens,  earliest  use  of,  22  f. 

Pen  teric  marble,  186 

Per'ga  mum,  231,  Fig.  112 

Peri  an'der,  159 

Per'icles,  181  ff.,  188,  197  f. 

Per  i  pa  tet'ics,  235 

Persecution  in  England,  618  and 
note 

Per  sep'o  lis,  97,  99 

Persian  Empire,  the,  95  ff. 

Persians,  early,  87 ff.,  95;  literature, 
91  f.,  94;  religion,  93  ff.,  100  f.; 
war  and  weapons,  95  ff.)  162  ff., 
i66ff. ;  commerce,  98  ff. ;  state, 
98 ;  writing,  98  ;  art  and  archi- 
tecture, 99 ;  civilization,  99 ; 
ships,  99  f. 

Per'sis,  154 

Peter  the  Hermit,  463 


Index 


725 


Peter,  St.,  regarded  as  first  bishop 
of  Rome,  340 

Petition  of  Right,  662  f. 

Petrarch,  548 

Phaestus  (fes'tus),  121 

Phalanx,  rise  of,  158 

Phalerum  (fale'rum),  174 

Pharaoh  (fa'ro),  29 

Pha'ros,  233 

Phar  sa'lus,  267 

Phid'i  as,  188  f. ;  frieze  of,  Plate  IV 

Philip  Augustus,  416  f„  471 

Philip  the  Fair,  425,  469,  490  f. 

Philip  of  Hesse,  603 

Philip  of  Macedon,  2 1 5  ff. 

PhiHp  II  of  Spain,  617  ff.,  642  f. 

Philippics,  216 

Philistines  (filis'tinz),  103,  127  f. 

Philosophy,  162,  204  ff.,  2ioff.,  281 

Phi  lo'tas,  228 

Phoenicia  (fe  nish'a),  31  f.,  87,  89 

Phoenicians,  30,  59  f.,  89,  137  ff. 

Phrygians  (frij'i  ans),  89 

Pile  villages,  242  f .  See  Lake- 
dwellers 

Pilgrim  Fathers,  666 

Pillars  of  Her'cu  les,  225 

Pin'dar,  217 

Pippin  the  Short,  369 

PI  rae'us,  173,  175 

Pirates  in  Middle  Ages,  507 

Pi  sis^a  tus,  1 56  f.,  167 

Pi'thom,  loi 

Pit'ta  cus,  1 59 

Plantagenets,  4i6ff. 

Pla  tae'a,  168;  battle  of,  177 

Pla'to,  205  ff. 

Plato's  ideal  state,  2iof. 

Plin'y,  163 

Pnyx  (niks),  the,  182  f.,  Plate  III 

Poitou  (pwato'),  418 

Po'la,  279 

Pompeii  (pom  pa'ye),  220,  297  f. 

Pompey  (pom'pi),  267 

Pon'tus,  146 

Pope,  340 ;  origin  of  the  title  of, 
343  ;  relations  of,  with  Otto  the 
Great,  439;  position  of,  477  f. 

Popes,  duties  of  the  early,  343  f. ; 
origin  of  the  "temporal"  power 
of,  346,  369 ;  election  of,  445  ; 
claims  of,  446  f . ;  at  Avignon,  493 


Portcullis,  392 

Portuguese  discoveries,  528  f. 

Poseidon  (posl'don),  144,  189,  195 

Postal  systems,  earliest,  98  f.,  236 

Potter's  furnace,  earliest,  35  f. 

Potters'  Quarter  (Athens),  173, 186 

Potter's  wheel,  earliest,  35 

Pottery,  earliest,  11  f.,  35  f.,  117 

Praise  of  Folly,  by  Erasmus,  581 

Prax  it'e  les.  Fig.  93 

Prayer  book,  English,  615  f.,  639 

Prayer  rugs,  361 

Presbyterian  Church,  607  f. 

Pride's  Purge,  669 

Pri  e'ne,  1 59 

Priest,  duties  of,  480 

Prince  of  Wales,  423 

Princeps,  274 

Printing,  invention  of,  552,  556  f. 

Protestant,  origin  of  term,  601 

Protestant  revolt,  in  Germany,  582 
ff. ;  in  Switzerland,  605  ff. ;  in 
England,  608  ff. 

Protestantism,  progress  of,  603 

Proven9al  (pr5  von  sal'),  537 

Provence  (pro-vohs'),  436 

Psyttaleia  (sit  tale'ya),  175 

Ptolemies  (tol'e  miz),  230  ff. 

Punic  Wars,  258  ff. 

Puritans,  666  and  note 

Pyramid  Age,  the,  27  ff. ;  govern- 
ment in,  29  f. ;  length  of,  30  f., 
44  ;  tomb-chapels  in,  and  depic- 
tion of  Egyptian  life  in,  33  ff. ; 
art  in,  41  ff. 

Pyramids,  the,  25,  27  ff. ;  as  royal 
tombs,  27  and  Plate  I ;  pyramid- 
temples,  40  and  Plate  I 

Pyr'rhus,  King,  256  f. 

Quakers,  677 

Ramadatt   (ra  ma  dan'),  month  of, 

361 
Ram'ses  II,  46  and  Fig.  30,  243 
Ramses  III,  128 
Raphael,  559 
Ravenna,  interior  of  a  church  at, 

321  ;  tomb  of  Theodoric  at,  322 
Raymond,  Count,  464,  466 
Re  (ray),  27 
Redress  of  grievances,  421 


726 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Reform,  spirit  of,  657 

Regular  clergy  defined,  .351 

Re  ho  bo'am,  104 

Rembrandt,  560 

Renaissance  (re  na  sons'),  cities 
of  the,  516  ff.;  buildings  of, 
522  f.;  art  of,  558  ff. 

Restoration  in  England,  676  ff. 

Retainers,  433 

Revolution  of  1688,  678  f. 

Rheims  (remz),  431,  432;  cathe- 
dral of,  515 

Rhodes,  Island  of,  468 

Richard  I,  the  Lion-Hearted,  417, 

471 
Richelieu,  638,  649  f. 
Rising  in  the  North,  641  f. 
Roads,  bad,  in  the  Middle  Ages, 

383 
RoUo,  407 
Roman  art  and  architecture,  262, 

273  f.,  279  f.,  285  ff.,  291,  293  ff., 

305 
Roman      church,      the      mother 

church,  340  f . 
Roman     colonization,     254,    276, 

282  ff.,  286  ff. 
Roman    commerce,   249  f.,   256  f., 

284  f.,  295 
Roman  education,  262,  282 
Roman  Empire,  "  fall "  of,  in  the 

West,    320 ;    relations    of,    with 

Church,  337  ;  continuity  of,  377 
Roman  law,  281  f.,  321,  331 
Roman   literature,   261  f.,    278  ff., 

305  f. 
Roman  religion,  251  f.,  296  ff.,  308 
Roman  ships,  249,  258,  285 
Roman  society,  252,  263  ff.,  276  f., 

288  ff.,  301  ff. 
Roman  State,  248  f.,  252  ff.,  255, 

264  ff.,  268,  271  ff.,  373  ff.,  301, 

311  ff. 
Romanwar,  255, 258ff.,  263,  266  ff., 

272 
Roman  writing,  249  f. 
Romance  languages,  534 
Romances   in   Middle   Ages,   537, 

Romanesque  architecture,  511 
Rome,  city   of,   in   Middle   Ages, 
318,  344,  524  f->   558 


Rom'u  lus  and  Remus,  249 

Rouen  (ro  oh'),  407,  432 

Roundheads,  669 

Roussillon  (ro  se  yon'),  649 f. 

Roxan'a,  224 

Royal  Society,  English,  657 

Rubens,  560 

Rudolf  of  Hapsburg,  458,  563 

Runnymede,  419 

Sacred  Way,  160,  207 

Sahara  Desert,  18,  19 

Sahure  (sa  hoo  ray'),  30 

St.  Bartholomew,  Massacre  of,  636 

St.  Benedict,  Rule  of,  441 

St.  Bernard,  470  f. 

St.  Boniface  anoints  Pippin,  369 

St.  Chamas  (sah  sha  ma'),  286 

St.  Dominic,  488 

St.  Francis,  484  f . 

St.  Peter's,  rebuilding  of,  584,  5S5 

Saint-Simon  (sah-se  moh'),  6S7 

Sale  ka'  ra,  25 

Sal'a  din  takes  Jerusalem,  471 

Sal'amis,  Island  of,  155;  battle 
of,  1 74  ff. 

Samaria,  71,  104,  106 

Sam'nite  wars,  255 

Samnites,  254  f. 

Sa'mos,  Island  of,  166 

Sanskrit,  89  f.,  92 

Sappho  (saf'fo),  160 

Saracens,  467,  504 

Sar  din'i  a,  259 

Sardinians,  prehistoric,  243  f . 

Sar'dis,  96 

Sar'gon  I,  64  f. 

Sargon  II,  71  ff. 

Saronic  (saron'ik),  150 

Saturn,  84;  temple  of,  248 

•Saul,  103 

Sa  v5  na  ro'la,  569 

Saxons  settle  in  England,  355 ; 
conquest  of,  by  Charlemagne, 
373  ;  rebellion  of,  450 

Saxony,  elector  of,  575 

Schliemann,  112,  123,  131 

Scholasticism,  547;  attack  of  Roger 
Bacon  on,  549 

School  of  the  palace,  379  f. 

Science,  medieval,  541  ff . ;  begin- 
nings of  modern,  652  ff. 


hidex 


727 


Scone,  Stone  of,  425 

Scotch  nation,  language  of,  424  ; 
differs  from  England,  426 

Scotland,  424  ff.,  667,  671  ;  Pres- 
byterian Church  in,  640 

Scylax  (ski'lax),  99 

Scythians  (sith'i  anz),  79,  89 

Secular  clergy  defined,  351 

Seleucids  (se  lu'sids),  230  f. 

Seleucus  (se  lu'kus),  230 

Seljuk  Turks,  461 

Semites  (sem'Its),  57  ff.,  67  ff.,  87, 
89,  148,  176,  261 

Semitic  nomad,  57  ff. 

Sen'e  ca,  286 

Senlac,  408 

Sen  nach'e  rib,  72,  77  f. 

Sen  tl'num,  255 

Separatists,  666 

Serfdom,  extinction  of,  396  n.;  in 
England,  431 

Serfs,  medieval,  394  ff. 

Ses'tos,  177 

Se'ti  I,  50 

Seven  Hills  (of  Rome),  294 

Seven  Wise  Men,  158  f. 

Sev'ille,  tower  at   (Giralda),  367, 

564 

Shakespeare,  661 

Shields,  earliest,  63,  243  f.,  248  f. 

Ship  money,  664 

Shires,  423 

Sib'yl,  Greek,  251 

Sibylline  Books.  251 

Sicilian  expedition,  200 

Sicilian  war  with  Carthage,  258 

Sicily,  457,  459,  473 

Sidon,  137  f.,  467 

Simony  (sim'  o  ny),  444 

Sinai  (sf  nl),  Peninsula  of,  24 

Sind'bad,  42 

Siwa  (se'wa),  Oasis  of,  226 

Slavery,  in  Egypt,  38  ;  in  Greece, 
149;  in  Rome,  264  f.,  290,  292 

Slavs,  subdued  by  Charlemagne, 
375;  invasions  of,  386 

Snefru,  25 

Society,  Egyptian,  38  f .,  42  f . ;  Baby- 
lonian, 63  f. ;  Assyrian,  78  f . ; 
Hebrew,  105  f. ;  Greek,  127  ff., 
143,  155  ff.,  183  ;  Roman,  217  ff,, 
238 


Soc'ra  tes,  204  ff. 

Solomon,  104 

So'lon,  153,  155  f.,  157,  159 

Sotig  of  Roland,  537 

Sophists,  192  f. 

Soph'6  cles,  190  f. 

Sorbonne,  631 

Spain,  318,  375,  531,  5641,  567; 

exhaustion  of,  631,  644  f. 
Spanish  fury,  630 
Spanish  Inquisition,  566 
Spanish  main,  531 
Spanish  succession,  war  of,  692 
Sparta,  132  f.,  136,  178  ff.;  military 

character  of,  208  f. 
Sparta  and  Athens,  178,  183  f. 
Sparta  and  Thebes,  212  f. 
Spartan  League,  203 
Spear,  earliest  use  of  the,   74  f., 

95  f.,  248  f. 
Speyer,  Diet  of,  600 
Sphinx,  Great.  41  f.  and  Plate  I 
Spice  trade  in  the   Middle  Ages, 

528  ff. 
Spinning  wheels,  earliest,  1 1  f. 
Stained  glass,  medieval,  514 
States  of  the   Church.    See  Papal 

States 
Statute  of  Provisors,  493 
Statutes  of  Laborers,  430 
Stephen,  411 

Stesichorus  (ste  sik'o  rus),  i6of. 
Stoics,  235,  281,  283 
Stone   Age,   the,   3  ;    Early,  3  ff. ; 

Middle,  6  ff. ;   Late,  10  ff.,  14  ff. 
Stone  architecture,  earliest,  12,  25, 

27  ff.,  44  ft"..  iiSff.,  i24ff.,  131 
Stone  masonry,  earliest  appearance 

of,  25,  27  ff. 
Stonehenge  (st5n'henj),  115 
Stories,  oldest  written,  42  f. 
Stra'bo,  299 
Strassburg,  690 
Street  of  tombs  (Athens),  207 
Stuarts,  659  ff. 
Subvassal,  397  ;  not  under  control 

of  king,  400 
Sudan  (so  dan'),  32 
Sulla  (sul'a),  265  f. 
Sully,  638 

Sume'ri  ans,  61  ff.,  67  ff. 
Sun,  the  Invincible.  299 


728 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Sun-god,  27  f.  ;  Roman  temples 
of,  280;  Roman  Emperor  as  a, 
299 

Susa  (so'sa),  99,  223 

Suzerain,  397 

Sweden,  intervention  of,  in  Thirty 
Years'  War,  647  ff. 

Swiss  lake-dwellers.  See  Lake- 
dwellers 

Switzerland,  origin  of,  605  f. ;  Prot- 
estant revolt  in,  606  ff. ;  merce- 
naries, 607  note 

Swords,  earliest,  53,  243  f.,  248  f. 

Syracusans,  200  f. 

Syracuse,  147  f. 

Syria,  59,  89,  23Q  f.,  460 ;  Latin 
kingdoms  in,  467 

Tacitus,  373 

Taille  (tah'ye),  435 

Tancred  in  First  Crusade,  464 

Taormina  (ta  or  me'na),  145 

Tartes'sus,  148 

Tasmanians    (taz  ma'ni  ans),    2  f., 

Tau  ro  me'ni  um,  145 

Tau'rus,  231 

Taxes,  earliest,  in  E'gypt,  29  f. ;  in 

Assyria,  72  f.;    in  Greece,  129; 

in  Rome,  277,  303  f. 
Taxes,  origin  of,  20  f. 
Templars,  468  f.,  493 
"Temporalities,"  442 
Test  Act,  678 
Tetzel,  585 
Textbooks,  324,  379 
Tha'les,  159,  162 

Thebes  (in  Egypt),  44ff.;    ceme- 
tery of,  49  ff. 
Thebes  (in  Greece),  212  f.,  217 
The  mis'to  cles,  i7off.,  178,  180  ff., 

186 
The  od'o  ric,  320  ff. 
Theodosian  (the  o  do'shi  an)  Code, 

309  f. 
Theodosius  (the  o  do'shi  us),  307 
Ther  mop'y  lae,    pass    of,    171  ff.; 

battle  of,  173 
Theses  of  Luther  on  Indulgences, 

585  f. 
Theseus  (the'sus),  186  ff.  and  Plate 

III 


Thes'sa  ly,  123,  125  f. 
Thirteenth  century,  discoveries  of, 

"  Thirty-Nine  Articles,"  616 

Thirty  Years'  ^Var,  646  ff. 

Thomas  Aquinas,  489 

Thomas  of  Canterbury,  613 

Thrace  (thras),  166 

Thu  cyd'i  des,  208 

Thiit  mo'  se  III,  46 

Tl  be'ri  us  Gracchus  (grak'us),  265 

Tibul'lus,  296  f. 

Tigris  River,  60 

Tilly,  648  f. 

Tin,  34  f.,  115 

Tiryns  (tfrinz),  I23f.  and  Plate  II 

Tithe,  476 

Titian,  559 

Ti'tus,  294 

To  khar',  88,  89 

Tolls  in  the  Middle  Ages,  507 

Tombs,  ancient,  in  Late  Stone 
Age,  13;  Egyptian  royal,  27  ff. 
and  Plate  I;  in  Feudal  Age  in 
Egypt,  42  ff. ;  of  Persian  kings, 
99 ff.;  streets  of  (Athens),  207; 
streets  of  (Rome),  295 

Tomb-temples  and  portrait  statues, 
46  ff. 

Tourneys  in  the  Middle  Ages,  402 

Tours,  battle  of,  367 

"Tower  of  Babel,"  63,  81 

Tower  of  the  Winds,  234 

Towns,  earliest,  12,  20,  59,  62, 
243  ff.,  247  ff. ;  of  Germany,  374, 
576;  in  the  Middle  Ages,  453  f., 
459'  497  ff-'  509'  5^6  ff- 

Trade,  medieval,  500,  502  ff. ;  regu- 
lated by  the  towns,  508  ;  spice, 
528  ff. 

Tra'jan,  231 

Treaty  of  Mersen,  381 

Trent,  Council  of,  619  ff. 

Treves,  elector  of,  575 ;  archbishop 
of,  598 

Tribunes,  253 

Trier  (trer),  289 

Tripoli,  466,  467,  472 

Trojan  War,  1 12 

Trojans,  1 17 

Troubadours,  538  f. 

Troy,  112,  117,  123,  131 


Index 


729 


Truce  cf  God,  402  f. 

Tudor,  House  of,  434  f.,  659 

Turks,  460,  461,  467 

Twelve  Articles  of  peasants,  598 

Tyrants,  age  of,  1 53  ff. ;  civiliza- 
tion in,  159  ff.;  Greek  thought 
in,  162  f. 

Tyre,  137  f. 

U'bil-Ish'tar,  66 
Ulrich  von  Hutten,  589,  598 
United  Netherlands,  629  ff.,  678 
Unity  of  history,  316 
Universities,  medieval,  544  ff.,  548 
Upper  Egypt,  46 
Urban  II,  Pope,  461 
Usury,  doctrine  of,  506 
Utrecht,  Union  of,  630  ;  Treaty  of, 
693 

Valentinian  III,  decree  of,  342 

Vandals,  318  f.,  324 

Van  Dyck,  560 

Van  Eyck,  the  brothers,  559 

Vaphio  (va'fio),  121,  123 

Vasa  (va'sa),  Gustavus,  648 

Vassal,  medieval,  397  ff. 

Vassy,  massacre  of,  635 

Vatican,  525 

Vedas  (va'daz),  92 

Velasquez,  560 

Venerable  Bede,  the,  348,  357 

Venetian  school  of  painting,  559 

Venice,  459,  472,  503,  504,  5i6ff. ; 

government  of,  519  f. 
Venus,  84,  251 
Versailles   (ver  salz',  Eng.  pron.) 

palace  of,  684  f. 
Ves  pa'sian,  294 
Vesta,  251  and  Fig.  113 
Vesuvius,  297 

Vikings  (vT'kings),  386  note 
Vil.    See  Manor,  394 
Villains,  394 
Ville,  498 
Vir'gil,  280  f. 

Visigoths.    See  West  Goths 
Vulgate,  619 

Wager  of  battle,  331 
Waldensians,  482 
Waldo,  Peter,  482 


Wales,  422  ff. 

Wallenstein,  647  f. 

Walter  the  Penniless,  463 

Walther  von  der  Vogelweide,  541 

Wangen  (wang'en),  12 

Wars  of  the  Roses,  433  f. 

Wartburg  (vart'borg),  translation 
of  Bible  at,  by  Luther,  596 

Weapons,  earliest,  10,  14,  53,  65, 
74  f.,  95  f.,  243  f.,  248  f. 

Weaving,  earliest,  10  ff.,  20,  36  f. 

Wedge-writing  (Sumerian),  60, 
62 

Wessex,  405 

Western  mediterranean  world,  the, 
241  ff. 

West  Frankish  kingdom,  382, 
406 

West  Goths,  318  f.,  327,  329 

Westminster  Abbey,  409 

Westminster,  city  of,  422 

Westphalia,  Treaty  of,  651 

Wheeled  vehicles,  earliest,  12,  61, 
90 

William  the  Conqueror,  407  ff. 

William  and  Mary,  679 

William  of  Orange,  678  f.,  690 

William  Rufus,  411 

William  the  Silent,  629  ff. 

William  III,  67S  f. 

Wit'e  na  ge  mot,  410 

Wittenberg,  582,  585,  592 

Wolfram  von  Eschenbach.  541 

Wolsey,  Thomas,  Cardinal,  573, 
609  f . 

Wood,  early  use  of,  for  tools,  3,  7  ; 
for  dwellings,  9  f.,  12  ;  for  furni- 
ture, 12,  37 

Wooden  dwellings,  earliest.  See 
House 

Worms,  448  ;  Concordat  of,  451  f. ; 
Diet  at,  593  ;  Edict  of,  595 

Writing,  invention  of,  21  ff. ;  Egyp- 
tian, 21  f. ;  Sumerian,  60.  62,  66  ; 
Babylonian,  62,  66 ;  Chaldean, 
83  ;  Cretan,  117,  121, 123  ;  Phoe- 
nician, 139  f.;  Aramean,  71; 
Hebrew,  106;  Greek,  130,  139  f. ; 
Etruscan,  246  ;   Roman,  249  ff. 

Writing  materials,  earliest,  21  ff., 
37,  62,  140 

Wyc'liffe,  John,  495 


730  Outlines  of  European  History 

Xavier,  Francis,  623  Za  ra  thush'tra,  93 

Xenophon  (zen'o  phon),  79,  211  f.       Zeus  (zus),  144,  190  and  Fig.  113 

Xerxes  (zerk'sez),  170,  174  ff.  Zeus-Amon,  226 

Zo'di  ac,  signs  of,  84 
Yahweh  (ya'we),  104,  107  f.  Zo'ro  as'ter,  91,  93  f.,  100  f. 

York,  House  of,  433  f.  Zo'ser,  25 

Zurich,  reformation  at,  607 
Za'gros  Mountains,  99  Zwingli,  601.  606  f. 


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